Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty? Such knowledge is higher than the heavens—and who are you? It is deeper than the underworld—what do you know? It is broader than the earth and wider than the sea. [Job 11:7-9 (NLT)]
The closest thing we have to a pet is one of those robot vacuums. Nearly as entertaining as a puppy, it needs far less care. As I watch it zip around the house, its movements appear to be entirely random. Sometimes, it starts by spiraling outward in a circle and, other times, it heads directly for the perimeter of the room. When it hits an obstacle, it seems to bounce off in another direction. Nevertheless, my robotic janitor usually knows enough to stop and beep for rescue when it gets into a jam. Unlike it, when I get into predicaments, I usually try to get out of them on my own. Life would be easier if I called on the Lord as readily as that gizmo beeps for me.
The robot vac also stops running (and beeps) when it is filled with dirt. When I get bogged down with the grime of life, I try to keep going rather than confess my sins and give up my burdens to God. When its battery runs low, this little vac knows enough to find its way back to its charging station, connect, and recharge. With a tendency to forget the importance of resting in God and having Him power me up, I often run myself ragged until I melt down or stop dead in my tracks.
Because the vacuum’s technology is old (another similarity), it has some issues. It has plenty of space to get under the guest room dresser but, once under, the vac can’t find its way out. Rather than stopping or changing direction, the thing repeatedly bangs into same corner as if an opening will suddenly appear! Of course, I’m not much different. Neither of us seem to learn from our mistakes and, like it, my stubbornness frequently blinds me to changing strategy. I’ve done the same ineffectual thing over and over again while foolishly expecting a different result (which is what 12-step groups refer to as “insanity”).
Apparently, the robotic vacuum has multiple sensors that help it calculate room size, detect obstacles, adjust for variations in surface, and keep from falling down stairs. In spite of reading explanations of its programming, I have yet to understand whatever logic is built into it. I can’t help but think of the inexplicable way God runs the universe. Like the robot’s movements, the events of life often seem random, disconnected, and perplexing. Yet, while I’m willing to accept not understanding how our mindless vacuum works, I seem to expect God to provide me with a clear explanation of life’s events. He doesn’t need me to understand how He operates to run the universe any more than my vacuum needs me to understand its workings to clean the floor.
St. Augustine said, “Si comprehendis, non est Deus,” which, roughly translated, means, “If you have understood God, what you have understood is not God.” He’s right! If we could comprehend how God works, He’d be less than a robotic vacuum. If He were small enough to be understood, God wouldn’t be large enough to be worshipped! We don’t have to understand how God works when we remember that He loves us and is good—all of the time.
I recently met Esha while walking and we occasionally stop to chat. Although the bindi (mark) on her forehead told me she is a Hindu and the cross I wear told her I am Christian, our different faiths have not prevented us from talking about God and our beliefs. My younger son’s marriage brought many Hindus into our extended family and I try to understand this complicated religion.
While walking in the Botanical Gardens, I left my husband on a bench by the lake while I went back to get a few more photos of the plumeria. After getting my last shot, I returned to find him gazing out at the water. When I disturbed his reverie with a touch on the shoulder, he looked up and said, “I was just enjoying Him!” I knew exactly who he meant.
The Apostle Peter tells us that true prophecy isn’t a product of the prophet—prophets only speak God’s revelation. Directed by the Spirit, their words communicate the message the Lord wants sent. Sometimes, however, prophecy is difficult to understand and interpretations of Revelation go from one extreme to the other. Some, like that priest in Monday’s devotion, dismiss it as completely symbolic. To them, Revelation is an allegory about the conflict between good and evil with good winning in the end. On the other extreme, we find obscure theories, convoluted correlations, and implausible explanations of every symbol and metaphor along with sensationalism and unchecked speculation connecting Revelation to current events.
Our fast-paced world is ever-changing and once ordinary items like slide rules, cassette tapes, boom boxes, floppy discs, dial phones, film, and VCRs are relics. My kids don’t use maps, write checks, or have a land line and my grands have never used a library card catalogue, set of encyclopedias, dictionary, carbon paper, or typewriter. We no longer need to get up to change channels, turn the lights on or off, or see who’s at the door. Our camera, maps, calculator, credit cards, compass, note pad, address book, plane tickets, and Bible all fit into our cell phones and everything on our phones (along with a fitness tracker and heart monitor) fits into a watch!
I’ve heard it said that no one is truly educated without a passing knowledge of Greek mythology, the works of William Shakespeare, and the Bible. The people who compete on the game show Jeopardy, however, are supposed to have more than a passing knowledge of those subjects and many more. Last month, however, all three Jeopardy contestants were baffled when the $200 clue wanted to know what came between “Our Father which art in Heaven” and “be thy name” in Matthew 6:9. None of the contestants even ventured a guess and, after an embarrassing silence, host Mayim Bialik supplied the answer: “What is ‘hallowed’?”
