Thought for Today
Numbers 9:13 But anyone who is clean and is not on a journey, and yet refrains from keeping the passover, shall be cut off from the people for not presenting the LORD's offering at its appointed time; such a one shall bear the consequences for the sin.
Ezekiel 44:13 They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my sacred offerings, the things that are most sacred; but they shall bear their shame, and the consequences of the abominations that they have committed.
Hebrews 7:25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 10:5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me;
Life is lived at the intersection of the Law of Inevitable Consequences and the Law of Unintended Consequences. All of our thoughts, words and deeds result in consequences. All actions and all inactions result in consequences. All decisions result in consequences. Refusing to make a decision results in consequences.
Possibly the 5 most common words in English are “I didn’t see that coming!” That is probably true in every language spoken throughout human history. Every time I read the book of Genesis, I can hear both Adam and Eve uttering those words, especially as they left Eden.
When Pharoah led the Egyptian chariots in pursuit of the fleeing Israelites, as the water closed in over his head, I suspect Pharoah uttered in Egyptian, “I didn’t see that coming!” Most students of the history of WWII know the alleged words of Admiral Yamamoto concerning the attack on Pearl Harbor, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” The Admiral died before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Had he lived, I wonder whether he might have said, “I didn’t see that coming!”
Even when we try, how successful are any of us in truly anticipating the complete outcome of our thoughts, words, actions and deeds? Yet, the ability to do so is one of the key elements in determining our successes and failures. Corporate executives are expected to fully and accurately anticipate the consequences of their decisions. The history of corporate America is rife with examples of their failure to do so. The Ford Edsel. New Coke. Rebranding Cracker Barrel.
What is true for corporate America is equally true for politicians, political parties and movements. Pick almost any pivotal moment in our political history, look at the outcome of the decisions and actions and generally someone involved had an “I didn’t see that coming!” moment.
The reality of life being lived at the intersection of the Law of Inevitable Consequences and the Law of Unintended Consequences is also true for each of us. The ability to fully anticipate and understand the results of our thoughts, words, actions and deeds is a very rare gift. When Greta agreed in Texas to go on that blind date in 1959, could she possibly foresee living in New England and having grandchildren by 2025?
Is our inability to ‘see that coming’ an inevitable aspect of our humanity? We are finite, temporal creatures with limited mental capacities. Every thought, word, deed or action has potential for almost infinite permutations as it is launched and interacts with the thoughts, words, deeds and actions of all the other plants, animals and people in God’s Creation. Creating a ‘decision tree’ to take into account all of those possibilities would tax all of the earth’s computational resources.
As a Christian, I thankfully don’t have to worry about all of the possible outcomes, all of the permutations. There are those times when I do admit, “I didn’t see that coming!” When I agreed to teach a Sunday School class about 50 years ago, did I foresee seminary, ordination and a pulpit ministry? Of course not! “I didn’t see that coming!” What I did see was the truth that I . . . we can trust our Creator God.
One of the greatest, most comforting and important verses in the Bible is Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (KJV) As we grow and deepen in our faith and our relationship with God, we also come to realize that God is also there with us on the mountain tops and everywhere else, not just in the shadowy valley. Our God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. God’s rod and staff comfort us in all the good times, all the bad times, and all the times in between. That truth, that comfort we can all see coming.
Stay safe, trust God in all times,
Pastor Ray