God Isn't Safe. But He's Good.

You may recognize the words in the title of this post from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when the Beavers are teaching Lucy, Susan, and Peter about Aslan the lion (chapter 8).   The children are perplexed about how the Narnians can love and think good of the Lion, while knowing that he is incredibly dangerous.  He is good, but not safe.  Loving, but not tame.  Powerful, but not controllable.

Obviously, he's a lot like God.

Jon Acuff recently wrote an article called Our $29,000 God.  He explained how shocked he was when it took less than a day for his readers to donate $30,000, whereas he expected it would take 6 weeks.  He realized that in the face of a huge challenge, that he "worshiped a really small God." 

God is bigger than our "insurmountable" challenges, including divorce, unemployment, rebellious children, money problems, etc.  Like Acuff, "I think sometimes we want [God] to be pocket-sized and manageable."  I love the idea of a powerful, loving, and good God, but only when that power, love, and goodness fits into a nice, neat box.  My box.

But deep down,

"I don't want a God who ever has to fit within my understanding.  I don't want a God who is limited by my mind and my experiences.  I want a big God.  A God that spans generations and space and time.  I don't want a God who needs my approval or comprehension to do something big."

Many of you know that our family is going through our own "impossible" challenge.  Of course, as a friend pointed out to us, we may have actually asked for this season.  We prayed for God to grow us, but just not with such growing pains.  We asked God to help us trust Him more, but we want to trust Him from our excess, not from sacrifice.  We have wanted to have a bigger impact on our culture and world, but only from the comfort of our nice suburbian home.  We asked for our faith to increase, but just not so much.

We have found comfort and security in our life.  But our jealous God wants us to find comfort and security in Him alone.

We must remember that our skills and circumstances can never achieve for us lasting peace and meaning.  Only God can.  Obeying and trusting Christ may lead us down a dark and rocky path, but it's the one that leads to life everlasting and to Him.

And that's a safe bet.

"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all -- 

how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

Romans 8:32 (NIV)