Does God Know?

This morning I noted that my good friend Thomas Jay Oord shared this comment on his Facebook status:

“Is wondering: With the latest events in Haiti, the Katrina disaster, and the

Should we be willing to admit God CAN’T do some things?”

Tom’s query is certainly provocative. He raises some very important questions that have teased the minds of humankind since the beginning. Clearly every believer has posed a “why” question at least once. Indeed, the two, being a believer and asking questions, are inseparable. There is little need to ask why if there is nothing larger than one’s self behind the screen of reality. It is the premise that God exists that prompts our questions.

My question is a simple one: What is the nature of the God who exists? And my next question is, from where does the information come that supports the definition associated with the claimed nature of God?

As I grow older, I am trying to simplify. My university experience ingrained in me a penchant for precision in speech. Admittedly, all that precision can obfuscate a declaration in a fog of multi-syllabic words, jargon, and obscurity.

While I accept the desperation that comes with wishing one could find a simple explanation for why things happen as they do, I am experienced enough to know that behind any explanation lies a multitude of variables that probably deserve exploration and consideration. To simply assert that because we’ve witnessed horrific tragedy that beggars both description and explanation, it might be time to admit that God doesn’t know as much as we once thought, seems to miss a critical point.

Dr. Oord suggests that we consider whether there indeed things God can’t do. We all know the challenges of pursuing that line of thought. For example, could God create a rock so large, even God couldn’t move it? Isn’t it funny how fast we can move from the sublime to the ridiculous!

Tom Oord is a great Christian, a wonderful friend, and beloved scholar. I would suggest however, that now is the time to reflect on the whole story of God that includes a terrifying range of truths. God created. God blessed. Humankind experienced relationship, with each other, the larger creation, and most importantly, with God. Unfortunately, the critical vestige of God’s likeness within humankind, the will to choose, offered a venue of supposed freedom and liberation through which the incalculable effects of broken relationships has been witnessed in creation, relationship with God, and with our fellow beings.

The story, thankfully and gratefully, does not end there. The love that God expressed in creation, was expressed once more in the death and resurrection of God’s son, Jesus Christ. In the agony of a parent watching a child die, we see the great heart of God breaking so that his creation could be restored to fellowship with him. The work of redemption is incomplete. Creation groans, so said St. Paul, as it awaits redemption. Humans suffer as they await glorification.

Christians serve because the greatest force in the world is love. Compassion gives love its features and expression. In the sadness of this hour, love works, because love comes from God. Love overcomes. It serves the broken. It rebuilds ruins. It heals the sick and feeds the hungry…because it is Love and love comes from God. In the end, God is still love. God can still do!

Grace and peace,
Dave Felter