Where is God in 2011?

In the fascinating little book, The Sunflower, Simon Wiesenthal described a conversation he had with some of his friends while they were prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. One of the men had overheard an elderly Jewish woman say, “Oh God Almighty, come back from your leave and look at Thy earth again.” Commenting on that woman’s prayer, Wiesenthal said:

“It is impossible to believe anything in a world that has ceased to regard man as man, which repeatedly ‘proves’ that one is no longer a man. So one begins to doubt, one begins to cease to believe in a world order in which God has a definite place. One really begins to think that God is on leave. Otherwise the present state of things wouldn’t be possible. God must be away. And He has no deputy.” 1

2011 has dawned on a world that for most of us is not nearly as horrible, frightening, and seemingly hopeless as the world in which Simon Wiesenthal lived. Nevertheless, there are still those who might contend that if there is a God, He must be on leave somewhere, disconnected or disinterested in the world He created. To those who look for Him, but do not really know Him, it might be difficult to find real evidence of the presence of God in a modern world.

As a new year begins, I am mindful of the words of Jesus just before His ascension. In Matthew 28:20, He spoke to His disciples, and assured them by saying, “…I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” And how is He with His disciples, even to the end? It is through the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter He sent to them (John 14:26, 15:26).

Mindful of the truth of Christ’s presence through the person of the Holy Spirit, we recognize that we do not judge the presence of God in the world by looking at the world. We look for the presence of Christ within us, not around us. Regardless of the external circumstances that surround us in this modern day, whether they seem hopeful or horrible, we are comforted by the fact that God is not on leave. He has not left us alone. In fact, He is closer to His people now than He was when He walked with them 2,000 years ago. Where is God in 2011? He is living in me, and I pray in you as well.

God bless, and Happy New Year

Terry

1. Wiesenthal, Simon, The Sunflower: On the possibilities and limits of forgiveness, (Knopf ebooks, 2008), Amazon Kindle edition