SHELDON AND DAVY
His name is Sheldon Van Auken. And he has written a book about a wondrous love story. You see, Sheldon fell in love with Jean Davis—a marvelous girl who went by the nickname, Davy. Sheldon and Davy met when they were college students and were soon married. Their love for each other was deep and rich. It was a ‘many splendored thing’ kind of love. But it was also a love that was essentially pagan. Yes, that’s the way Sheldon himself would describe it. For he and Davy were religious pagans. Oh, please understand. Davy and Sheldon were highly cultured people. If you had met them, you would have considered them to be charming, witty, urbane. They celebrated all that was good in the world. They shared a sense of adventure. They delighted in music and poetry. But Sheldon and Davy didn’t think they needed God in their lives. They had each other and the fine things of the world. They were, by their own admission, cultured pagans.
And then Sheldon and Davy met C.S. Lewis, the great Christian author of the twentieth century. Sheldon and Davy were introduced to Jesus Christ. They opened up their lives to let Jesus, this third party, into their relationship. And, says Van Auken, it was then——after they became followers of Christ—that things began to unravel. Davy and Sheldon went through a series of personal crises, culminating in the greatest tragedy imaginable. Davy Van Auken, only in her mid—thirties, was struck down by a mysterious virus and died. In his grief, Sheldon Van Auken sought out their mentor, C.S. Lewis, and shared this strange dynamic that had gripped their lives. How could it be that life went more smoothly BEFORE he and Davy came to know Christ? And Lewis called to mind the story of St. Theresa’s vision of Christ upon the occasion of some frightful personal experience. She complained to her Lord that her life as a Christian was plagued with trouble. Christ answered: “But this is how I always treat my friends.“ And Theresa with brutal frankness had responded: “Then Lord, it is not surprising that you have so few.“
THE PROBLEM WITH PROVIDENCE
Perhaps that legendary conversation is too blunt for your taste. But consider. Isn’t this really the problem many people have with God—— reconciling their everyday troubles with the Bible’s plain teaching about God’s care? The Old Testament songs that we call the Psalms, are clear about that care.
Psalm 121—— “The Lord who watches over you will not slumber.“
Psalm 145—— “The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.“
Christians call this strand of Biblical teaching ‘providence.’ Knock off the last three letters of providence and you end up with ‘provide.’ And that’s the core idea of providence. God provides for his people. But is that true?
You know, I’ve noticed that often people are quite naïve about providence. I find in common conversation most people just use the word to describe fortunate events. The kind of event where ‘all’s well that ends well.“ Some years ago, my nephew was driving down a highway on a Sunday morning, when a semi—tractor rig pulled out in front of him. Alone in the car, he was able to throw himself into the passenger seat just before the car slid under the truck. The top of that car was peeled back like an open sardine can. But my nephew walked away alive and unhurt. When the officer who arrived at the scene asked him where he wanted to be dropped off, he said to drive him to his original destination—the morning worship service at his church. He arrived and slid into his seat with only a few glass fragments adorning his hair. Now on most Sundays, my nephew’s brother would have been in the passenger seat beside him. But his brother had been delayed back on the farm and had taken his own car to church that morning. How would you describe that saving turn of events? A lucky outcome? A chance happening? I know how we in the family described it. We called it providential. And we were right. How can you question that God’s hand had prevented a horrible tragedy? But——what if those two brothers hadn’t changed their routine that Sunday morning? Then what do you say about God’s care?
Yes, we tend to reserve the word ‘providence’ for events connected with happy endings. A regular checkup reveals a potentially life—threatening condition that can be treated with simple medications. “It was providential,“ we say, “that the doctor caught it in time.“ A change of plans keeps us off the flight that goes down on take—off. “It was providence that the boss decided to cancel my business trip,“ we remark to a colleague. In such moments of near disaster providence seems like a safety vest that can stop the fastest of speeding bullets. But what if the lurking medical condition goes undetected in spite of those regular check—ups? What if the plane goes down, and we are seated in first class? What then?
PUTTING JESUS’ TEACHING INTO CONTEXT
Frankly, I don’t have an ultimate answer to all your questions today. Explaining the mystery of suffering is like peeling an onion. Take away one layer and there is another layer underneath. Answers about suffering invariably lead to more questions—until all questions cease as we look into the face Christ, and fall silent before the one who bore ultimate suffering on our behalf. Still, the verses we read from Matthew help us frame the issue of God’s care in a new light. I’m going to ask you to take the time this week to read through Matthew 10. If you do, you’ll discover that the verses we read are set in a passage about what followers of Jesus can expect in their own lives. Now, this is one of those passages that make us squirm. For Jesus is brutally honest about what lies ahead for his disciples. When Winston Churchill assumed the position of prime minister of Great Britain during the Second World War, he said that he could promise England only blood, tears and sweat. Jesus makes a similar—no really, an even more dire, promise. Jesus tells us that our discipleship is going to put us into a great deal of hot water. Essentially, Jesus tells us: “If they called ME a devil—what do you think they’ll call YOU? If they take ME and nail ME to a cross, what do you think they will do to you?“
It’s in this context of brutal honesty that Jesus brings up the matter of God’s care. Jesus deliberately talks about providence in relationship to TOUGH TIMES. I’m glad for that. You see, if God’s care is going to have any meaning to us at all, the hard moments of life have to be taken into account. The care of God needs to be an experience we encounter in the depths as well as on the heights. Jesus offers us a simple saying about God’s care that has far reaching implications. It’s in the form of what we call a parable—a teaching story. Listen:
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny
And not one falls to the ground without their father’s will?“
Now I find that saying interesting for two reasons.
THE LITTLE AS WELL AS THE BIG
First of all, Jesus teaches us that God cares about little things as well as big things. For Jesus speaks of sparrows. Now, when it comes to the bird world, sparrows seldom make it into the top ten. Where I live, in winter, I enjoy watching the bright red cardinals visit my bird feeder. Come spring, I look for the arrival of the first robin. In summer, when I’m by the lakes, I keep a lookout for blue heron. In the fall, I love to see the Canada geese form their V formations and head south. But never do I get excited about sparrows. There are just too many of them. They are too common, too ordinary. I never shout to my wife, “Come to the window! There’s a sparrow on the fence outside.“ Yet sparrows are the focus in this word from Jesus. You see, Jesus wants us to understand that the reach of providence is to the tiniest of creatures—and to the smallest of events. You know, I’ve met a lot of people in my years in ministry who think God is interested only in the big stuff of life. After all, he’s a great God. He’s got a lot of important things on his mind. So he’s interested only in the stuff we consider the big moves of life—whether we marry—and to whom. What career we pursue. Whether we have kids. But these same folks say God isn’t interested in the ordinary stuff of life. You know what I’m talking about——the little details that you share with your family over the dinner table at night and soon forget yourself. God can’t be interested in those things. But that’s not so. Jesus teaches here that God is a detail person. God is the God of little things. He is the God of the sparrows! So God is interested in the conversations that happen in the United Nations—and he’s interested in what’s happening in the sparrow’s nest up in the tree out back. He’s interested in the headline makers who are in the news. And he is interested in you even if your name never hits the papers. He’s interested in you, and all the bits and pieces of your life. The little joys—and the little sorrows. God’s care embraces EVERYTHING! That’s the first thing we learn from Jesus’ words.
THE BAD AS WELL AS THE GOOD
But now we learn something else. Not only does God’s care embrace the big and the little. It also embraces the good and the bad. For consider the ‘event’ Jesus talks about here: Not one sparrow falls to the ground says Jesus, without the heavenly Father’s will. Jesus is talking here about the DEATH of sparrows. Jesus doesn’t speak of sparrows miraculously saved from impending disaster. He doesn’t speak of sparrows narrowly evading the talons of a hawk in attack mode. No, instead he speaks of a sparrow fallen to the ground. You know how it goes. You’re out on a walk, and you glance ahead and you say, “Oh, a dead bird.“ And you walk by without another thought. Sparrows die all the time and we never notice. But God notices. The death of a sparrow clicks with God. Because this divine embrace of God’s care reaches out even to embrace the lifeless sparrow in your back yard. This care of God, wondrously, mysteriously, embraces things hard as well as things easy.
AND NOW MYSTERY
And now the obvious question—how can the embrace of providence be so total? Why doesn’t providence just keep out the hard stuff? Protect us like a shining barrier against all problems? I warned you that there is no end to our questions here. But let’s explore an insight from Matthew 10 that will help us. Remember I said that this word about God’s care is set in a passage where Jesus talks about what kind of life his disciples will face. And when he does, he talks about being sent by God on a mission.
It might surprise you to learn that God himself is on a mission—a mission to make right a fallen world. But that means we’re on a mission too. And on that mission, for reasons known only to God, some tough things will come our way. Some of those hard things make sense to us. We don’t like ridicule for our Christian commitments, but we know we’re likely to get our share. But other things—well, they seem to make no sense at all. The death of a child; a terrible illness, the failure of our business. These things stand beyond reason. In fact, some things are so terrible that when they come it seems as though God has slammed the door on us, and forgotten us completely. But that’s not so. Remember God’s care of the fallen sparrow. Remember that according to Jesus, you are worth more than many sparrows to God.
You are on a mission with God to let his love more completely remake you as a disciple of Christ. You are on a mission to let the light of God shine in a dark world. And in that mission, God asks you to trust him to endure things that for the time being seem unexplainable —even unreasonable. But still, God says—trust me. Because God is doing what the word providence literally means. Providence comes from two Latin words. Pro—which means “before.“ And video—which means “to see.“ “To see before.“ That’s what providence is about. Here is a picture of God going before us. Like a scout, on the look—out for what is to come. Like a rider, out ahead, preparing the route. And why is God out ahead? Because the paths he intends to lead us by are not always easy. But he doesn’t take us on those paths to destroy us. He calls us to walk those paths in order to fulfill us.
THE JESUS PATTERN
Let me offer you a brief glimpse into the life of one who experienced the depths of God’s mission. Let’s take a glimpse into the life of Jesus himself. Would you care to contemplate the way providence worked in his life? Well, the providential God scouted the way ahead for his Son, and led him to, of all places, a hill on Golgotha. The providential God, who spies out our lives, brought Jesus to his personal place of fulfillment——on Calvary. And why? For the sake of the mission. For the sake of the Father’s divine purpose. So that on a cross the terrible debt of sin might be paid and death itself be undone. The greatest demonstration of providence is not to be found in sparrows or song birds, but in Christ! But Jesus says in Matthew 10: “The servant is not above his master.“ A servant is not above his Master. Our Master is Jesus Christ. And we are not above our Lord. That means something of the pattern for his life now becomes ours.
SEEING OURSELVES IN THE MISSION
So how do you understand your own life? Is the value of your life wrapped up in God’s mission? I’m afraid that’s not how most people see their lives. Most people believe that the greatest value in life isn’t God’s mission but their personal happiness. When asked to make sacrifices, when asked to do right but costly things, I’ve heard a lot of people say—“But I can’t believe that God doesn’t want me to be happy.“ Our culture believes that happiness is the most important value in life.
But what if it’s not? Let me take you back to Sheldon and Davy. Sheldon and Davy were very much in love. In fact they decreed that their love for each other was their most important value. Nothing was more important than their love. They intended not even to have children, because it would get between their love for each other. Their love for each other was, well, their god. And then, they met Christ. And as they walked with him, they made a discovery that shook their value system to the core. Jesus demanded from them their highest allegiance. To know God and the power of his love was the one thing that ultimately mattered. To be involved in the mission of his Kingdom was what counted.
Happiness—is it the most important thing in your life? Have you built a shining barrier around your happiness? So that nothing will touch it? But that shining barrier will fall. You cannot protect your happiness forever. You know that. The events of life will assault it. That’s why I invite you to discover, what those who know God’s providential care understand. There is a higher purpose in life. It is to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection. It is to be conformed to the character of God’s Son. It is to participate in God’s mission, no matter what the cost may be. Those who understand that come to see that God’s care is over us in good times and in bad. Through all things, God works his grace, his mercy, his love in our lives.
The preacher Douglas Nelson tells of visiting a terrible little cell in the dungeon of an old English castle. No doubt through the years among those imprisoned for nothing more than their faith. No light had ever come into that prison cell from the outside. On one wall, the stone had been worn in to the shape of a hand, for men dying of thirst leaned there while they licked the filthy moisture that leaked from the moat through one small crack. And in the blackness of that terrible cell, someone had scratched these words of Jacob:
The Lord was in this place and I knew it not.
Yes, the Lord is even here. Even in the hard places of life there is God.
Robert Heerspink
Rev. Robert Heerspink is a native of west Michigan. He completed his undergraduate studies at Calvin College and holds the degrees of Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from Calvin Theological Seminary. He has also received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Bob was ordained a minister of the Word in the Christian Reformed Church of North America in 1979, and has 26 years of parish experience, having served four churches throughout west Michigan. He was appointed the Director of The Back to God Hour in 2006. Bob has written several resources related to congregational stewardship, including the book, Becoming a Firstfruits Congregation. He is a regular contributor to TODAY, the monthly devotional of The Back to God Hour. Bob is married to Edith (Miedema) and they have three children. His hobbies include reading fictional and historical works, watersports, and occassional golfing.
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