Harold Camping Glorifies God

Harold Camping glorifies God.

I promised to myself that I would not mention him anymore, but he does glorify God in his foolishness. In fact, it is impossible for him to not glorify God because all things– they are servant of God’s. It is impossible for us to not glorify God.“By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.” (Psalms 119v.91) We are all servants, whether we are turned towards God or away from him he continues to use us. I am beginning to realise how false the attitude is that thinks that if you do not believe in God, then, you are apart from God and away from his control, but you still are.

In light of this, I am reminded to think about how little I really am–how futile it is to disobey God, how little faith I have that I am not doing what God has chosen me to do. Jonah felt the same way, he ran away from God. And still, even in his disobedience, he glorified God.

He was called by God to go and preach to the inhabitants of Nineveh. “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.” Jonah 1:3 (English Standard Version)

Even still while he was sleeping on the boat to run away from God, God brought a tempest.

He was glorifying God by sleeping.

His crew woke him up and they pleaded with him, to pray to his god. This was a ecumenical crew that resided on this boat–so much so that whoever would calm the storm, they were willing to listen to. Admittedly, because of the current situation at the present time, the storm was the focus of their attention, not any divine beings. All gathered on the top deck, they were all praying to their various gods filled with fear at this storm that threathened to capsize the boat at any moment.

Still God was glorified: he was sustaining the boat till Jonah came, and none of the other gods would listen.

Surely, Jonah was then tossed into the sea because it was apparent it was his disobedience that was causing the storm. After the casting of the lots, the blame fell on Jonah, and he was the one that was guilty of running away from the One True God. He was tossed into the sea, this was even after they had tried every way to get out of this predicament.

God was glorified, there was no other way but only one who was called by God to sacrifice his life for many. However disobedient he was in running away from God, He was not far from God who is in everything. On that ship, Jonah became sin for everyone on the ship in recognising his sin, and the necessity of putting His trust in God. Only when someone is born again can they seek to give their own life for many—even for these who worshipped their own gods—Jonah was the catalyst for repentance on that ship.

“So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.”Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.” Jonah 1:15-16 (English Standard Version)

God was glorified, in the spreading of the Gospel on that boat. No other way could the realness of God have come onto these men without the immediacy of the material calming of the storm. They were convinced this was the one true God, and this man they had tossed into the sea, He was a servant of this Most High God. Only through the sacrifice of Jonah could they have had knowledge of the One True God who made the sea and dry land. The God who created the storm and the peace afterwards–He was the reason for the storm, and also the calming of the storm.

Surely, Harold Camping glorifies God in his eternal plan in showing the folly of man without Scripture. Moreover, God is glorified in the many ways I fall short, and the times that I forget to shine the Light. I pray daily that He would continue to grant me the Holy Spirit that I may be an instrument of his grace more effectively. 

King of the Hill on Christianity

I used to watch King of the Hill a lot.

There is something quintessenially American about the television show–the perfectly arranged front yards, men grouping together around the beer, the women looking out their kitchen windows over their children with careful eyes. There is something about that show that describes the life of working class family, in a wonderfully stereotyped kind of way that is. Actually, TIME magazine have gone so far as to say that King of the Hill was one of the “most acutely observed, realistic sitcom about regional American life bar none”.

Because of this, I watched with interest an episode on Youtube for how it interpreted Christianity. It actually was a slimcast, which condenses the episode into 10 minutes instead of the original 25–which is probably why it was on youtube legally. Anyway, it was illuminating in how they present an image of the Nu-Christianity that has taken over a youth group that Bobby (the son) has joined. In many ways, it is not very much different from the Christianity that is given in churches today. 

The Impossiblity of Salvation

In the latter parts of the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth, he writes perhaps one of the profoundest statements I have come across: “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;” (1v.27)

There is something very comforting from that verse which resonates with me so much. I have never professed to be strong, my want for strength is perhaps embodied in the amount of Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts I own, but I digress. There was a post running on revelife the other day that was titled, “Christianity: A Crutch For The Weak”, I cannot say I had a read of it, but I might when I finish this post. The image of a crutch is one of support for an injury, a leg-up above our present condition as you would have it.

Yet I find it somewhat lacking, my reply when people say that is, Christianity is nothing like a crutch for the weak, it is a revival of the dead. There is a fantastic passage in Ezekiel 37 which talks of the life being born into dead bones. God asks Ezekiel the question, ”“Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”” (Ezekiel 37:3). There is something strikingly similar when Jesus begins His ministry and He calls Philip who finds Nathaniel ”Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”” John 1:46 (English Standard Version)

In both, there is an element of impossibility in the intonation of the words. Where the dead bones were emptied of life, Nazareth as well was emptied of all intelligence as it would seem. When applied to the impossibility of salvation, it becomes something of a miraculous event, not only that a totally new creation is born. But moreover, the weak and not the strong would be rescued from their sins which have caused them to be dead, life out of bones with no intelligence of their own.

Why God would use the weak is explained in the subsequent verses in 1 Corinthians 1, “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1:29) The Greek, καυχάομαι/kauchaomai translated boast, means literally to speak loudly. The fact of the matter is that God does speak loudly, whether through words or His creation. He chooses the weakest, so as His power and glory is amplified greater in all the earth, because a man might die for his fellow brother if he was good, but only a truly altruistic man would die for someone bad.

God chooses the weakest, much along the reasoning that the weak themselves understand how dead in their transgressions they are, and how much in need of God they are. So much so, that only the dead would know how far God has brought them, and how much change has occurred within their heart. Jesus came as a Great Doctor to those who are sick and need healing, not those who are well in their own eyes. To be weak is to acknowledge we need God, and God will surely answer those who ask for him truly.