Christian Living

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My dad was career army, enlisting just out of high school and getting stationed at a base near Washington D.C. He was a model solider, a proud American and a good looking guy, who was chosen to be part of the color guard for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Whenever FDR traveled in an area motorcade, Dad rode along side him on horseback. The rest of the time, dad was in the stables shoveling horse manure. He’d be the first to tell you that he spent more time working a shovel than he did escorting the President.

One morning, Dad was exercising the horses when General Patton arrived on base. Everything screeched to a halt as the men stood at attention. As the great general passed by, Dad dutifully saluted him—then saw his life flash before him when Patton stopped, turned and said:

“Boy, I don’t like the way you saluted me.”

Now, Patton allegedly had a reputation for expressing disapproval through physical violence, such as an iron fist to the gut. But—as Dad braced himself for a socking-to-set-you-rocking, Patton offered a slight smile and continued, “I’ve been watching you, though—and I DO admire the way you handle those horses.”

Whew!

Criticism followed by a compliment. Dad was pleased to get that from a five-star general who had the power to stuff him head first into a trash can, but chose not to.

This story makes me think about the power God could use on us. Think about it. We’re talking about God, as in God Almighty. He’s been known to zap a woman into pillar of salt and arrange for someone to spend three days in the belly of a big fish. Let’s not forget the time He really got fed up and turned the whole planet into water world.

No doubt, God could take us out faster than the light He created can travel. He could simply speak us out of existence. He could turn us into the funkiest thing He ever made—the thing some people say is evidence of His sense of humor: a platypus.

I look at the world’s atrocities, rendered by human hands, and wonder why God doesn’t rain down fire every few days. Some people say it’s because God has gotten nicer since His Old Testament days, but God says “I the Lord do not change.” (Malachi 3:6) Our God is the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the same God who can overturn mountains in His anger. (Job 9:5)

The Old Testament, just like the New, speaks MANY times over about God’s love, mercy and compassion, as well as His wrath and judgment. Though we see different aspects of His character depending on who He was dealing with at the time and why, He has never acted without reason or been the old grouch that some claim.

The “Old Testament God” and the “New Testament God” are one in the same, but some of His tough actions in the Old Testament have baffled believers. How do we reconcile them with the expression of Himself through Jesus? And, with all the disobedience and rejection taking place today, I wonder why He doesn’t allow US a taste of frog invasions and body boils. (Exodus 8:5, 9:10)

We live in the Age of Grace, under God’s New Covenant. Honestly, though, this is an area of study I’ve just ventured into, and I don’t feel qualified to write about it yet. I can tell you this, though:

I’m glad God sent Jesus to atone for our sins. I’m equally glad that He isn’t dealing with present-day disobedience by opening the flood gates. If He did, we’d all be running for life jackets.

God is righteous, holy and can’t look upon sin. (Habakkuk 1:13) That’s bad news for us because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The good news is that we’re made righteous before God because of the work Jesus did on the cross. (II Corinthians 5:21)

Granted, I don’t always understand the why’s and how’s of God, but I like what writer Evelyn Underhill said: “If God was small enough to be understood, He would not be big enough to be worshipped.”

The most important thing to understand and act upon is this: A big, perfect, all-powerful God loved little sinful us enough to make a way for us to know Him, and to spend all eternity in His presence.

Here’s what I’ve got to say about that:

Whew!


© Donna G. Morton, October 2006

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