Let's say you were a Christian and you wanted to follow Christ. Let's say you got a visit from Jesus, an angel, something clearly a message from God. Let's say that this message told you, "It's God's plan to eliminate the United States in its world systems -- capitalism, democracy, that sort of stuff -- and it's God's plan to do that by using Kamala Harris and the rest of the Far Left Dems to bring America to her knees. Vote for Kamala." Would you do it? Or would you say, "No, that's not in the best interest of everyone. That's not the best way to go."? Stupid hypothetical, I agree, and not one I'm suggesting is even remotely true. I just wanted to pick one that was "out there." Because, while voting for Kamala as an act of obedience to a God that wants to bring down the U.S. is silly, the hypothetical concept is not. Indeed, Peter faced just such an event in Acts.
Peter at this point was the primary leader of Christ's church in Jerusalem and beyond. In Acts 10 we find him in Joppa visiting a tanner named Simon. (Acts 10:9-16) He was on the roof of Simon's house praying and he got hungry, and while they were fixing some food, he had a vision. A great sheet came down with all sorts of "illegal" animals -- animals Peter had been rightly taught all his life were unclean -- and a voice said, "Get up, Peter, kill, and eat." Peter protested. "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean" (Acts 10:14). The voice corrected him. "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy" (Acts 10:15). And the vision occurred three times. Peter, you see, was facing a crisis. He knew that voting for Kamala was the wrong thing to do. Oh, wait, wrong story. He knew that eating unclean food was the wrong thing to do. And he was right ... right up until God said otherwise. Well, you know the rest of the story. God had told a Gentile centurion to send someone to find Peter (Acts 10:1-8). The messenger arrived just as Peter's perplexing visions ended, and it all became clear. God was sending Peter to a Gentile (where Peter would never have been allowed to go before) to take him the Gospel (Acts 10:17-48). And Peter witnessed the Holy Spirit falling on unclean Gentiles ... and ordered them baptized.
No, I'm not suggesting that anyone at all vote any way at all -- certainly not the Kamala ticket. I'm asking you which you would choose. If God asked you to do something that you knew to be a bad choice, a wrong direction, an unwise option ... not the best ... would you do it? Or would you correct Him (as Peter did)? Would you explain that it's wrong and, apparently, so is He? If God were to hand you the loss of everything (as in the case of Job), would you accept it from the hand of a loving and righteous God, or would you correct Him and do "what's best"? Just a thought experiment ... that we all face from time to time in real life.
10 comments:
I'd like to think that I would simply follow His direction. I'd like to think that if I was going to question Him, that I would do so out of respectful curiosity. But who knows.
I do see all too many Christians who can't fathom the notion that YHWH might work is a way that they don't like, understand, or agree with.
Sorry, this hit me right after I pushed publish.
Being honest, it would totally be in line with how YHWH has acted in the past to bring down a country in order to further His plans and purpose.
People often criticize the ancient Israelites because of God's command to slaughter the Canaanites. But my hardest story to comprehend is Abraham and Isaac. Slaughter the Canaanites because of their sin, okay, they're nobody to the Jews anyway. Peter, what I make clean is clean, okay, that's for the spreading of the Gospel. Abraham, sacrifice your son to Me... In hindsight we can see all the theological connections, but Abraham had no clue of any of that. He at best believed God could resurrect him, which meant he would have to kill his own son. For Abraham, there was no potential positive on the other side. It was a complete test of faith with no promise after. Could I?
The hypothetical scenario in your first paragraph might be a dilemma for certain believers but not for me; based on Heb. 1:1-2, I would automatically dismiss a vision, dream, “visit” from Jesus or angels, etc., as a legitimate “message from God.” So unless I saw specific instructions like that in His written Word (not at all likely), I am free to follow my conscience, I believe, as it is informed by scripture. But even if I seek to obey His Word and interpret it in error (and, say, “vote for the wrong party” or “not vote for the right man”), it will not be a devastation. Essentially, I know that God will use all things--including obedient Christians and wayward people of all persuasions--to carry our His will perfectly, as He has since the beginning of time. This ultimate confidence gives me peace--especially because we do not get those clear visions from God these days.
Weren't interested in the thought experiment, Lorna? A thought experiment has you assume something is true for the sake of the experiment. The real thought experiment has been no experiment for believers through the ages. Abraham told to sacrifice his son of promise. (Thanks for the example, David.) Moses commanded to "Set My people free." Israel told to walk across a sea. Jonah told to take the Gospel to a pagan city. God is in the business of asking us to do things we aren't really expecting. The thought experiment was how far would you go to obey God?
I did try to follow your thoughts, but I got tripped up on your hypothetical scenario, because in these days, God does not appear to us and explain His plans like He did in OT days. I did think of all the examples of testing you mentioned and was considering how glad I am that God doesn’t instruct us that way now--i.e. in visions or direct messages--but has given us His written Word--obedience to which doesn’t entail my understanding it as “right” or “wrong” first.
Apparently, I missed the entire point of the thought experiment, as my thoughts went somewhere else--to “do I trust in God’s sovereignty to work out His will (of which I am mostly oblivious anyway) regardless of my obedience or understanding (or lack of it)?”--realizing that even the “wrong choices” on my part won’t hinder His plans. Yes, I do.
If I were to complete your thought experiment, I would say that my opinion of any instructions I were to receive (as per your hypothetical scenario) would be irrelevant. If I were used to God giving direct messages to me such as you describe (which happened regularly in OT times), I would accept that they were revelations or instructions that required no thoughts of “is this OK?” or judgment calls of any sort on my part but were to be carried out without arguments with God. Although we don’t get those kinds of visitations from God these days, I have the same challenge from His Word every day regarding submission and/or obedience; although it’s on a smaller scale than the examples you mention above, it’s still a test of faith…and I don’t always do well on tests.
Interesting, Lorna. So you wouldn't look for God's direction in "Who should I marry?" or "What should we do in this circumstance?" or "Who should I vote for?" or the like if it's not written in Scripture? I've never had a word from God that contradicts Scripture or is even intended for anyone but me, but He has talked to me at times. Is it your understanding that that doesn't happen anymore?
Yes, I would seek God’s will and His direction regarding my life choices and plans; they would be based on biblical principles and instructions. I was talking about if God visited me and spoke specific words to me about His plans or directions (as in your example)--then I would feel no judgment or approval was required of me, just compliance. Discerning God’s will (or “hearing from God”) in these days (when God does not visit us personally that way but has given us His Word [Heb. 1:1-2]) is a whole other topic, which I would love to discuss more but cannot at present, in light of my upcoming long drive out to Wyoming commencing early tomorrow morning. (Perhaps you can address that topic in a future post after I return in two weeks?)
This is a tough one for me as well. I think that Abraham's relationship with YHWH might have affected his response. But it would be difficult and require a lot of trust.
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