Dearly loved by God in Christ Jesus,
What are they thinking? It is difficult enough to understand my own thought processes at times, let alone someone else’s. I’m reminded of the members in Bible study when one of my searching questions hangs in the air. I can see it in their deer in the headlights look, “What response is pastor thinking about here?”
On this eve of Thanksgiving, we will apply this whole “knowing another’s thoughts” to God and us. Rather than lament our ignorance of God’s mind, and being often left in the dark about God’s thoughts, we will do this instead. We will offer A Tribute to God’s Wondrous Ways. First, this is an incentive for praising God. Second, it is a preventative for blaming God.
Paul’s words are in no way a lament or criticism. The apostle pays tribute to God’s wondrous ways, “Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and his ways past finding out.” This marvelous truth is our incentive for praising God. I don’t know God’s mind, other than what he has clearly revealed in the Holy Scriptures. I don’t understand what God is doing in my life or in the life of others besides working all things for good. So, what is left for me when I am so mystified is only to praise him.
I do known that God’s wisdom and knowledge are “rich.” They are abundant and good in quality and quantity. Take for example a snapshot of all the stars in the sky. There are countless stars in the picture, but those account for only a spec of the total number of stars. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 147, “He determines the number of stars and calls them by name.” That God has not revealed to us the same knowledge he has should not lead us to complain against him. It leads us to bring our praises to him.
The apostle Paul was not thinking here so much about creation and preservation as God’s cares for us. He was thinking more along the lines of God’s patience and forgiveness of our sins. He had had just reviewed God’s choice of Abraham and his descendants as his people first, and then the extension of God’s gospel call to the Romans and other Gentiles.
When Paul considered God’s kindness and sternness in dealing with us sinners when we worship idols, lie, cheat, get angry and hurtful, are selfish, just plain dead in sin, Paul asked himself questions like “Why did God choose Abraham? Why did God favor Jacob over Esau? Why was God good at times and severe at other times with his people? Why the long wait for Christ to come and fulfill the promise to crush Satan’s head?
Paul did appreciate that God wraps what he does not reveal about things in his revealed grace and righteousness. Divine purpose in many matters transcends all human understanding. The how and why we do not know God wraps in the patience and love we do know because he has revealed his patience and love in Christ Jesus our Savior.
There are other unknowns in our lives as well. We do not know about that accident that did not happen. We are not aware of the cancer or other illness that we did not get. The daily deliverances and protections we enjoy without even knowing it are a tribute to God’s wondrous ways. They are the incentive for praising God also.
What is really amazing and wonderful is that God chose me by grace in Christ to be his child. He called me the gospel with its power of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross in my place. In the midst of the millions of people on earth, God knows my name just as he knows every star. There in an incentive to praise God.
Paul’s tribute to God’s wondrous ways we share this evening also is a preventative for blaming God.
No one is blamed for sin and evil in the world more than God is. Think about it? How often does someone say, “Why does God cause so much starvation, poverty, and war? Or, “I just can’t believe in a god who let’s so much abuse take place in the world, or causes so much injustice.” They make it sound as if God is the author of the evil rather than sinful human beings.
What they really mean is I won’t believe in a god who doesn’t do things the way I want, or doesn’t explain and justify his actions with me. They don’t appreciate that God does not always treat them better than he treats everyone else. It is not just “they” but “we” in our sinful nature. When that happens, what are we thinking? We are not thinking about the tribute Paul offers to God for his wondrous ways that is for sure.
The temptations to doubt and questions always are near. Then we need to follow Job’s example and confess, “I am unworthy-how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer-twice, but I will say no more.” [40:4, 5] Our tribute to God’s wondrous ways prevents us for blaming God for sin when it is I and other humans who are cause of sin. We realize our error, turn to our Savior, Jesus Christ, and fine in him full pardon for our foolishness.
Paul asks, “Who has
known the mind of the Lord?” Certainly not us in many things. However, when it
comes to our forgiveness and salvation we do know the Lord’s mind. He loves us
and sent his Son to redeem us from our sins, from death, and from the devil’s
power. We know we have nothing to offer God to earn that love or repay that
love. No need. “For from him and through
him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever.”
What a tribute. My God is so great that heaven cannot contain him yet he deigned to well in this little sinful heart of mine. I can’t always follow the dots and trace what God is up to in my life. So what. “O the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out.” Amen. <SDG>