Part one of this begins in April (2014) on the right and continues in sequence to this point.
So we know that God is a loving (His love, not ours), involved parent who is, quite literally, in complete control - a fact seen quite clearly in part two. For if He were not in complete control, then prophecy could never work for it would depend upon humanity randomly reaching points at the same and correct time. In short, that is what it means for Him to be sovereign. We also know He is eternal and unchanging as well as omnipresent (He is everywhere at the same time).
But what does all this have to do with blame? Surely by now, that is one common theme which we have seen throughout this series. We saw the blame game at work with the events of the fall in garden. We questioned who was to blame for the crucifixion. Then we looked at the life events of AJ and sought for someone to blame for their "fall from grace". So, in short, everything.
Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Another way to put that is that faith is trusting that God knows what He is doing. Think about that statement for a minute and realize that you put faith in all kinds of people constantly.
Do you drive a car or travel with someone else who does? If so, then you are trusting that whoemever built your braking system knew what they were doing, or whomever installed it did. You are trusting that the other drivers on the road have a license to drive and know what they are doing. You trust that your wheels are attached correctly and are not going to come flying off at some random time during your trip. In short, you have faith that many people knew (and know) what they were doing.
Let's consider the crucifixion. If we did not know how it ended (which we now do) and we were there in the moment it was happening, would it have looked as though God knew what He was doing? If we understood all the prophecy about Jesus, would it have appeared to have been "going according to plan" from our vantage point? Probably not. Like the disciples, we would have been in a panic. But we do know how it ended which means we do know that, in fact, everything went exactly as planned since God did know exactly what He was doing the whole time. This "is" God we are talking about here - making mistake is something He just does not do.
In our story with AJ we can see the same idea at work. God, knowing what had to be done in order to make the necessary changes in both spectator and AJ, set the required plan into motion. Even while it appeared that everything had "gone to hell in a hand basket", it had not. God did not lose control of the situation at any point in time nor was He "ever" absent from it. In short, He knew exactly what He was doing even if we, with our limited vision, could not see it at the time.
So we find two points at work here. One, playing the "blame game" can be the opposite of trusting God in, and with, <whatever> and questioning His sovereignty (remember Job: he, and his friends, questioned God's actions and motives only to get "because I am God" as a basic response). Secondly though, if God is in charge and in control, then if we blame someone else, we would actually be slandering that person in a lot ways. Like, blaming the Romans for crucifying Jesus when we know it was the plan along and that, a plan created and executed by God Himself - not by any man.
So does it change anything? When we look at those circumstances within our own lives and the lives of those we care about, both past and present, that we have sought to lay blame against another person for, does it change anything? It should, should it not. Especially when we consider that we know little of what actually goes on in our own life (and we do not know our own heart nearly as well as we would like to think we do), and almost nothing of what is actually going on in someone else's (we cannot see their heart at all - we really can't, no matter what we think we know), should there not be a certain measure of peace with the knowledge that we can trust God to know what He is doing even if we do not understand it at the time.
Now do not get me wrong here, am not moving towards the idea of no responsibility for actions. Like, someone kicked Bill's dog when he was 9 years old so he decides to blow up a bus when he is 37 and the kicked pet becomes a solid defense for it. Not even vaguely going that route. Nor am I trying to minimize all your fears, pain and grief with a blanket statement of God's control. Then again, am also not trying to say that I have how God works and thinks all figured out because, I certainly do not nor do I actually want to, if am honest about it.
In the Bible, we are told to not worry or fear, to trust God and have faith in Him over and over and over again. And honestly, with the limited vision we have in this life, that can sometimes be a hard thing to do. But maybe, just maybe, if we can remember that, even when we cannot see or understand it, God does know what He is doing and that He does work out things for the good of His children, maybe we can rest just a little bit easier and possibly stop being quite so upset with some other people we have known (or known of).
Is there "another" part to this? Honestly, am not quite sure but there might be. So, for now, we shall end with our "normal" for this series...
***To Be Continued***
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