Use it All

I listen to Rob Bell and Greg Boyd a fair amount and I’m just going to share something that they have spoken some about recently. I guess the general premise is that God can work through everything. There are a lot of bad and horrible things going on and there are a lot of people who don’t believe in a God but everything is spiritual. He can work through it all. If you are a Christian he would love to work through you, and if you’re not and then he is probably working through you without you realizing you are doing his work. Those working hard to bring dignity to every human being regardless of a bigger thing, there is something greater there to support you. Those who believe in something greater don’t just rely on it. You are called to action. Let’s stop asking the question why is God letting all these bad things happen and start asking; what can I do to stop these bad things from happening? We all fit in the grander story

Rob Bell was speaking about Jonah recently. I have heard the story of the whale eating Jonah and spitting him out several times, but I really learned a lot this time through and it has taken new meaning for me. So Jonah is a Prophet of God and God wants Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah decides he is going to do the exact opposite and head to Taursus. In the context Jonah not just paid for himself to go, but he chartered the entire ship to go when he pleased. Jonah could afford to do what he wants and go where he wants. He has the ability and money to do as he chooses until the fish swallows him in which his money and personal will have no meaning and it’s out of Jonah hands. He has options and his own will but at the end of the day, Jonah gets rescued from himself by the belly of a fish. God can work through everything.

So let’s backtrack to before he gets swallowed by the fish, we had 2 types of people on the boat. We have the Gentile sailors who are unsaved, unclean not that special and then we have the Prophet of God Jonah but when things go down, it’s the Gentile sailors who are asking questions about God, praying to God and worshiping him. This all happens while the Prophet of God sleeps and talks about killing himself. Their expected actions are completely reversed. The line drawn between the Prophet of God and Gentiles as two types of people on opposing sides is completely turned on its head. The clarity in categories between being with God or without is just smashed to pieces. The idea that certain people are supposed to act a certain way because of their relationship to God is proven false time and time again. The world doesn’t work in these categories. Everything is spiritual. God can use everything for his glory. Taking this a step further, we have to be open to these possibilities that we can’t instantly label things as one or another. Let the lines stay gray. God can work through everything, let’s keep our hearts and minds open to what that can mean in our lives, regardless of where we stand in our relationship to God.