For the next seven weeks, we’re going to be digging into some scriptural examples of people disputing with God. From Abraham to Moses to David to Jonah to an unnamed Canaanite woman to Jesus himself, it turns out that we come from a long line of believers who were willing to question and even criticize God. Sometimes, these skeptics are swiftly put in their place (the book of Job comes to mind), but more often, the Lord just…lets it happen. On some occasions, God actually engages in the debate, and there are even times when God winds up changing God’s mind because of it. Plenty of modern Church leaders would be horrified at the thought of questioning religious authority, but the fact is that there’s a whole lot of scriptural precedent for it. So let’s see what we can learn from the complaints of our forebears.
Do any of you remember the “Be Like Mike” commercial for Gatorade from back in the ‘90s? Even though I was only about five when it came out, I can still remember it. The ad took video clips from some of Michael Jordan’s most impressive moments on the court and cut them together with clips of regular kids and teens playing basketball outside (presumably they were trying to emulate the pro ball player). The footage was accompanied by children’s voices singing about their dreams of being “like Mike.” And just in case the song and video didn’t communicate the commercial’s message clearly enough, the spot ends with the words, “Be like Mike. Drink Gatorade” in big, bold letters over a black background.
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Anyone who’s ever read the epistles in any depth can tell you that Paul’s theology is firmly rooted in agape. As you may or may not recall, “agape” is the Greek word for active, unconditional, and sacrificial love, the type of love that seeks the well-being of others without expecting anything in return. It’s the kind of love that God has for humanity and that Jesus exhorts us to practice towards one another. It most famously shows up in chapter 13 of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians - “Now faith, hope, and love remain - these three things - and the greatest of these is love” - but between the noun, verb, and adjective forms of the word, agape is mentioned as many as 136 times throughout the epistles. Paul clearly considers it foundational to the gospel’s message.