October 16, 2024

Viewing all things through the lens of the True and the beautiful!

The True

When Everything is Lost

He had lost everything. His beloved children had been murdered. His livelihood had been destroyed and his wealth plundered. Even his health and his reputation were in tatters.

There was no reason left to hope. Nothing tangible to point to as a reason for optimism or faith. It was simply all gone.

It was in that dire and hopeless circumstance that Job declared these remarkable words:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).

May the name of the Lord be praised! But why? Why should the name of the Lord be praised, even in a circumstance where all is lost, and where it seems as though what is really needed is a cry for the almighty God to show up in power? Why would this be the response from Job, and why is it lauded as a righteous response?

Before we consider the answer, let us reflect on the response of another of God’s servants—David—when confronted with a litany of reasons to lash out at God.

In Psalm 31, David has a list of grievances about his circumstances. Do any of these sound familiar to you? Are you, or have you been, in a similar situation? David says:

“I am in distress . . . my eyes grow weak with sorrow . . . my soul and my body with grief . . . my life is consumed by anguish and my years with groaning . . . my strength fails because of my affliction . . . my bones grow weak . . . I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends . . . I am forgotten as though I were dead . . . They conspire against me and plot to take my life” (Ps. 31:9-13).

This is not just a bad day. David is flatlining. His body, soul, and spirit are giving out. Even if he could overcome if left to himself, others are planning to kill him. This is not a bad day. This is the end.

It is from that hopeless place David responds:

“But I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands” (Ps. 31:14-15).

Again, it is fair to ask, “Why?” Why is the response a statement of praise for who God is rather than a justified plea for Him to do something?

We know God is all-powerful (Ps. 147:5), He desires to deliver us (Ps. 34:17), and even that we are invited to ask deliverance of Him (Ps. 50:15).

But my friends, the power in these responses from Job and David is rooted in the fact that their trust in God’s goodness was not due to anything He had given them, or even contingent on His deliverance, but instead simply in a deep conviction of who He is.

Are there areas of your life where you feel that all is lost? If so, as you look toward the day when all that is wrong will be made right, remember this: The greatness of your God far exceeds a dependency on the things of this world! Your God’s greatness simply is.

When everything around you is lost, you still have everything. When you find yourself in that place, declare as did Job and David:

“The name of the Lord be praised.”

“I trust in you, Lord.”

“You are my God.”

Business

Google and Monopoly

Google, one of the largest companies in the world, is facing the possibility of a court-mandated breakup after its search engine was found to be a monopoly. Breaking up the company is just one of several possible remedies put forward this week in response to the underlying ruling by a U.S. District Court in August. However, in separate cases, Google was also found to be operating with an illegal monopoly in its Android app store, and is facing allegations of a monopoly in its advertising practices. Google is defending its business practices and argues that consumers benefit from the billions of dollars the company invests in proprietary technology.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Technology, and especially information technology, can be one of the most difficult challenges for Jesus followers to navigate. On one hand, our connectedness makes it possible for each of us to instantly (and creatively) share the Gospel with people all around the world. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he thanks God for them “because your faith is being reported all over the world” (Rom. 1:8). That is a pretty astounding statement in biblical times when most people never interacted with anyone living more than a few miles away! Today, however, you have the ability to instantly and economically communicate with people all around the globe. There is immense power for good in that!

On the other hand, this constant connectedness can threaten the depth of our interpersonal relationships and can also easily overwhelm us. When we are constantly connected to everyone, there is the risk of not being deeply connected to anyone—including our God who made us for the very purpose of connecting with Him (Is. 43:21).

So regardless of what the legal system determines Google must do in terms of allowing competition to its technology, you and I must wrestle with how we will steward both the blessing and the challenge of technology. Let’s use this story as an opportunity to sincerely evaluate our intimacy with God and with those closest to us.

“My beloved is mine and I am his” (Song of Songs 2:16).

World

Tension on the Korean Peninsula

North Korea used explosives to destroy portions of roads and rail lines connecting North Korea to South Korea. The demolition was largely symbolic, as tensions between the countries have long caused the passages to be closed for use. However, North Korea’s hostilities are a clear sign it is abandoning previously stated ambitions to “unify” with South Korea. South Korea fired warning shots on its side of the border in response, but so far no direct conflict has been engaged.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Border conflicts are flaring up all around the world. It seems to be increasingly challenging for nations and people groups to coexist peacefully—and yet this is a really a challenge as old as mankind. Our task as Jesus followers is to be faithful to the Gospel mandate even amid this dynamic.

Many of these conflicts are between actors that are not moral equivalents. For example, the hermit kingdom of North Korea has chosen to isolate itself from most of the world, and its limited interactions with the outside world have often amounted to saber-rattling (unauthorized missile tests, etc.).

Even so, God’s love for the people of North Korea is as strong as it is for you, and He has a plan for reaching them with that love—it is you!

This story is about people groups in conflict. But your mission and mine is to the people who make up those groups. It is to find ways to reach the one who is lost and longing to be found.

The dictatorial leadership in North Korea may desire to inflict isolation on its people, but the heavenly Father says to each of us, “Come to me” (Matt. 11:28).

World

Chilly Relations

The relationship between Canada and India has become icy, and each country has moved to expel the other’s diplomats. The deterioration of the diplomatic relationship stems from the Canadian government’s belief that Indian diplomats were involved in the 2023 killing of a Sikh Canadian citizen. The two countries have a long-standing relationship and history of economic cooperation, but this disagreement is an escalation of tension that has been simmering in recent years.

Analysis and eternal perspective: You likely sense a theme in this week’s stories: There are growing hurdles in our human relationships, and we as Jesus followers are tasked with loving even in the midst of those fissures.

The legal issues at the root of the dispute between the Canadian and Indian governments are real. Resolution of the allegations will be necessary if diplomatic reconciliation is to take place. Fortunately, diplomatic reconciliation is not a prerequisite for the reconciliation of individual hearts and lives to Jesus. He calls those made in the image of God—be they in Canada, India, or beyond—to His side and into a personal relationship with Him.

As relationships in our world get more and more difficult to navigate peacefully, our mission to invite others into a relationship that transcends those challenges becomes all the more critical!

“I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (John 10:14).

The Beautiful

Chicken Walk

It is fall! What a beautiful, color-filled time of year! If you need a dose of beauty this week, step outside and take a walk in the fall air. It is even better if you have a chicken to tag along with you, but just in case you don’t, here is one of ours to make you smile!

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:7-10).