As a father, today's OT reading was painful. What was the sin of Jeroboam's son, Abijah, that he should die so young, and in so clearly ordained fashion? Why was he the one to die as a result of his father's sins? What kind of a God would do such a thing?
I am reminded of my college years, studying under Jesuits who, God bless them, were never known for a straight answer - the Socratic method denied them the luxury; rather than teach answers, they taught thought and process. Which is the only way Albert Camus's "The Plague" finally made sense. Camus postulated a town where plague struck, killing indiscriminately, without predictability or reason. It was an attempt to prove the non-existence of God, for if the conditions he described were indeed possible (and they were!), what kind of god would permit them? My philosophy professor (and yes, it was in philosophy that we took this up) then explained that Camus was struck by conflict: if, in fact, such conditions as he'd described could, in fact, come to pass, and there was no discernible reason for them, then what was the point to order in man's existence? Such irrationality would render his existence, and its basis, futile. And it was there that he discovered contradiction, for man's existence, upon observation, was neither purposeless nor futile. And so he reconciled the scenario he'd envisioned with his observations of man's existence by concluding that there was reason to man's existence - reason which, while perhaps indiscernible to man, had to make sense somehow...to a sensibility higher than man's. And in so doing, Camus, in his quest to prove the non-existence of God, ended up postulating His existence. To Camus, things didn't make sense - but he appears to have ended up believing in a higher power to which they did make sense.
Still back during my 16 years with the Jesuits, one of the lessons they tried to teach me was that humility wasn't self deprecation; humility consisted of a recognition of truth. Reading the story of Abijah, I am tempted to outrage and anger; humility demands I recognize the truth Camus demonstrated to himself inadvertently - that God exists, that He knows better than I do, and that He is not under any obligation to explain Himself to me. We are told Jeroboam and all of Israel mourned Abijah's passing; Jeroboam clearly did not have a good relationship with God. How sharp the contrast of his reaction with David's who, when he sinned by killing Uriah the Hittite, also suffered the loss of a son. David, unlike Jeroboam, when accused of his sin, repented; and he fasted, hoping to stay God's hand. One does not do interact that way with anyone, unless they believe the Being they interact with exists, and they have a relationship with Him that gives them the faith their prayers will be heard. And because David had a relationship with God, he was comforted in his son's death by the certainty that while he couldn't bring him back to life, "I will go to him, but he cannot return to me." (2 Sam 12:23 [NIV]). What a strong relationship with God that brings such certainty!
Our pastor, Scott Taylor, discussed the development of such a relationship in his talk on revival. The development of such a relationship with God is premised on our "seeking His face". And here, rather than reinvent the wheel, I cite the devotional God gave us today in such perfectly timely fashion. It's title is "A Deeper Longing", and can be found at http://devotional.upperroom.org/devotionals/2015-06-15.
Dear God: give us the humility we need to recognize the limits of our strength and understanding, so necessary for us to be able to submit to Your will.
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