An Act of Genius

Dear Faith Family,

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, (Genesis 50:20).  

Kevin McCallister.  If you’ve seen “Home Alone”, then you know.  He’s the child who was left…you guessed it…home alone!  The team of Harry and Marv serve as Kevin’s evil nemesis as they attempt to burglarize and then brutalize young Kevin. 

Do you remember “Angels with Filthy Souls”?  That was the old gangster movie Kevin played on the television during his war with Harry and Marv.  It was one of the most memorable moments in the movie (highonfilms.com), “Home Alone”.  Stay with me.  Kevin watched “Angels with Filthy Souls” as part of the movie “Home Alone”. 

Here's the crazy part.  “Angels with Filthy Souls” isn’t a real movie.  The “Home Alone” moviemakers created the gangsta (that’s the cool way to say gangster) movie as a prop to be included in the “Home Alone” movie.  An act of genius! 

Ok, ok, what’s the point?  Rather than searching for some preexisting movie prop to serve the purposes of “Home Alone”, the moviemakers created their own prop to accomplish what they desired. 

Are we somehow guilty of crafting a God who is limited by our circumstances?  Is He restricted by what already exists?  Is God doing the best that He can with what’s happening in our world?  To put it another way, is God reacting to circumstances over which He has little or no control?  Is He doing the best that He can with what He has? 

Consider God’s truth through the words of Joseph, As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, (Genesis 50:20).  Wait just a minute!  Joseph referenced all that his brothers did to him – the pit, Potipher’s, prison, and the palace!  And correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds premeditated.  It’s as if God wasn’t merely reacting to the outside (outside Himself) circumstances.  Rather, God appeared to be governing the circumstances to accomplish His purposes.  Could it be that God was the one crafting our circumstances (for good – His definition)? 

Does that inform our prayer lives?  Instead of asking God to do something with our circumstances, maybe we ought to be asking God what He’s doing with the circumstances and how He wants us to respond.  In the hustle and bustle of this Christmas season are we asking God to do something in our best interest with the current circumstances?  Or are we looking for what God is up to with the current circumstances and how He wants us to respond?  

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!

Pastor Karl