Man has tinkered with methods of healing for thousands of years. Although new challenges in the science of healing constantly emerge, GOD endowed our planet with the medicinal properties to relieve pain and aid in healing. From plants to trees to serums from the most unlikely creature dwelling in the Amazon, GOD’S intervention was when our inhospitable planet settled within the habitable zone of our Sun and allowed Earth to be the home of humanity. And, he’s endowed the smartest and most capable among us to explore the depths of knowledge to address our physical needs. So that if Aunt Nancy doesn’t survive the operation, we understand that death is an integral part of life and that the established parameters of life and death have been adhered to.
GOD does not have to part the sky and nudge a tornado to prevent catastrophe. The physics and science that undergirds the structures Man builds to withstand Nature’s fury has been imparted to us by GOD. The laws we create to prevent or give consequence for a violation of human dignity such as rape, molestation, genocide; slavery or holocaust has its genesis in GOD crafting the Limbic System of our brain in such a way that when these tragic events occur, we have the tools to cope with or eradicate these violations.
And it’s helpful to know that death is an integral part of life. Death is the inevitable fate of Man, animal and plant. There’s a biological clock that began winding down the moment we entered this world. The death of stars, planets, galaxies and solar systems has occurred for billions of years. Death has been with us since the moment our Universe came into existence. Death cannot and will not be avoided. Our need for GOD’S physical intervention is rooted in many ways, in our fear of death and the consequences of our personal actions.
In the last few years, I’ve had to grapple with every choice I made as a man, husband and father. I’ve also had to deal with the consequences of my choices. Up until a few years ago, church and being Christian shielded me from my responsibilities. How? Well, when the storms of life arrived, it was either another “test” from the God of scriptures, or satan was fiddling around in my experience. I resorted to scripture, doctrine, dogma and church cliche to help explain the turmoil swirling around me. These religiously inspired explanations inevitably lead to urgent prayer to survive the experience.
I realized in the last few years, that everything sustaining about church was actually detrimental to real spiritual growth and maturity. While I was calling on the God of scripture to save me yet again, I avoided a profound question: WHAT RESPONSIBILITY DO I BEAR IN ALL THAT IS HAPPENING IN MY LIFE? In short, I had to recognize that it was the choices and decisions I was making that brought the storm into my life. It wasn’t another supposed “test” from the God of scripture. The storm wasn’t satan meddling in my life or tempting me yet again. The hell that I was experiencing is and was a result of my decisions. And when the consequences of those decisions knocked on my front door, instead of facing what I did, I attached a religious or spiritual connotation to avoid placing the blame where it actually belonged – on me! And as a result, I sought intervention from the God of scripture.
I wanted the God of scripture to swoop down and rescue me from my bad decisions. And when I begged, pleaded, cried, moaned for the God of scripture to come to my aid; when I beseeched his presence or an audible confirmation that he was hearing me or begged for an Angel to appear or for the sky to crack open and his hand to reach down from Heaven to “Make a Way out of No Way,” I realized that after all of those years in church and all of those bible verses and all of the prayer, the answers were already there – in my hands, my mind, my heart and the decisions and actions that inevitably follows. GOD fashioned my hands and mind to ferret through the challenges of life. I finally realized that my wailing, crying and pleas for the God of scripture to intervene was a very human response to my lack of personal responsibility. I realized that as hard as life can be, it’s much more difficult when we make bad choices.
So now I don’t wait for things to magically happen. I don’t wait for things to occur by osmosis. I don’t conflate the oral tradition and metaphor of an agricultural people who saw the natural occurrence of rain as a blessing – enabling them to grow crops, feed cattle and store grain, with GOD somehow requiring money to prove faithfulness.
I don’t perceive knowledge and reason as a threat to spiritual growth, nor do I think the wisdom of Man is folly to GOD. The Creator has gifted us the ability to think, reason and unravel the mysteries of this world. GOD has proven that neither knowledge or a so-called Tower of Babel threatens his majesty. That is why satellites blanket our planet and technology allows mankind to explore the outer regions of our galaxy, solar system and Universe. Does GOD, the Creator of our Universe and all that we behold each waking day tamper with the physics that govern our world to help find a parking space, nudge a tornado or help a football team win a game? For me the answer is No! But, the genius of GOD is that he’s given humanity the ability and opportunity to accomplish whatever we set our minds and hearts to.
Ron Holland is the host of the Public Affairs show, ‘COMMUNITY VOICES’ on WPZS -100.9 & 92.7 FM, Charlotte. He’s also a Producer and Board Operator for WOSF – Old School 105.3 FM. Ron is also a Production Assistant with all three stations. Any thoughts on this week’s commentary send Ron an email: ronholland@radio-one.com
Why I No Longer Wait On the God of Scripture was originally published on praisecharlotte.com
