The Active God

         The 19th Century German philosopher, Nietzsche proclaimed, “God is Dead.” He was not asserting God did not exist. Not at all, rather Nietzsche was affirming that God no longer existed in the hearts of men. With no real concern as to God’s existence, Nietzsche insisted God simply no longer represented the motivating source and ultimate authority for the actions of men. Men no longer believed in him and, as a result, was for all practical purposes dead. Subsequently, in the age of the 1960’s, when I was an adolescent, our popular society ambled down a spiritual course filled with apathy and self-gratification, spurred on by free will, rebellion, and mind altering hallucinogens. Science was the new god and rational thought left no real room for God in the ‘If it feels good do it” generation. Within that culture the proclamation of Nietzsche resurfaced again, still trying to nail the coffin shut on God, asserting that by now God was certainly dead.

         And so today, in this age of super-technology and instant communication, we find a mainline society still trying to affirm God has no place in the hearts of a rational, educated, and modern man. Our churches are rife with proselytes of modernism, naturalism, and political correctness to the point where the watered down rolls of the church are becoming meaningless. Any modern poll will support an overwhelming assertion that the majority of Americans believe in God and are Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. However, those same people, when polled, will condemn the Church when it stands fast to moral principles that do not support popular pet agendas. It appears being religious is a matter of convenience to mainline society.

          But, have the voice of the Church sound out against abortion, homosexuality, same sex marriage, and attempts to remove prayer from school and public gatherings, and that voice is labeled as being racist, redneck, ignorant, fanatical and simple minded. Support prayer around the flag pole on a public school campus, exhibit a nativity scene that proclaims a Merry and Holy Christmas, or display a plaque with the Ten Commandments in the halls of justice and the outcry from mainline society thunders in against the Church in peals of opposition and often ridicule. It appears it is much more politically correct for God to be dead in the eyes of the news media and among a community considering itself to be informed. Thus confirms the Apostles Paul’s statement that “considering themselves to be wise they became fools.” In the eyes of a nonbelieving world, if God is not dead he certainly has a terminal illness rapidly leading to death.

         However, there has always existed a faithful contingent of believers, whose number is undocumented, since they blend into the visibly “churched” silent majority. (Realize there are those who go to church to be seen going to church and there are those who go to church to deepen a relationship with a loving God. Often times it is difficult to visually discern one from the other.) There has always been a faithful remnant, as prophesied in the Old Testament. This remnant existed through the ancient captivity of Israel, persecutions of the Roman Empire, apostasy of the Dark Ages, and assault of humanism and science into our era. There has always been a remnant who believed in the one true God and remained faithful to him. Don’t try to identify them as a denomination or sect. God does not have relationships with denominations and sects. God has relationships with individuals. That is where you find the remnant, among individuals, who often times gather together in groups to worship. We like to think that, on the greater scale, Christian churches contain that remnant; unfortunately, that is not always the case.

         It is among the remnant where you find testimony of an active God, a God who is alive and working among his faithful. God is not dead, and will never be as long as there is a remnant who believes in him. It is not that God only makes his presence known to the remnant. No, God works openly and actively for all the world to see. Miracles still happen and are obvious to those who are witnessing God’s presence in the world. However, in the minds of those who scoff at the existence of the remnant and who contend that God is certainly dead, miracles are not politically correct and fail under the scrutiny of the common sense of science and right thinking. As a result, the scoffers do not see an Active God working a million miracles on a daily basis. And more significantly they totally miss the blessing of experiencing the first hand love of a truly loving God—the love of an Active God.

         So, it is on the occasions where super human strength is needed and unprecedented fortune is necessary to save the moment, we find the unbelieving media and populace quickly explaining away the miracles which prove God is alive. The testimonies of great saints, who are everyday people living a faithful life for God, are winked at and labeled as the ignorant musings of old people, whose basis of information is steeped in senility. The cancer gone to remission is attributed to the drug and the surgeon. The near lost life retrieved from the disaster is attributed to the action of the emergency medical technician (EMT). The extraction of 33 Chilean miners from beneath a half-mile of rock is attributed to the ingenuity and aggressive action of a president and his group of experts. And, the restructured and reconciled private life of the drug addict is attributed to the courts of justice and treatment institutions. The actions of God in each of these situations is often explained away, becoming only a footnote--a caption caught on TV such as, “Hi, Mom.” However, there are those who know and see God acting in this world today; just ask that miner who fell on his knees and gave thanks when he reached the light of day. The remnant still sees; and they know. Nietzsche was wrong. God is not dead—just ignored. But, just the same, he has not gone away. He has not slinked away with hurt feelings or wounded pride. God remains right where he has always been—right here next to you and me, doing what he has always done—loving us and caring for us. God is moving about; he is indeed an Active God.