A Tame God?

Ephesians 3:14-21
Romans 8:18-39

There's a wideness in God's mercy
I cannot find in my own
And He keeps His fire burning
To melt this heart of stone
Keeps me aching with a yearning
Keeps me glad to have been caught
In the reckless, raging fury 
That they call the love of God

Now I've seen no band of angels
But I've heard the soldier's songs
Love hangs over them like a banner
Love within them leads them on
To the battle on the journey
And it's never gonna stop
Ever widening their mercies
And the fury of His love

Oh, the love of God
Oh, the love of God
The love of God. 

Joy and sorrow are this ocean
And in their every ebb and flow
Now the Lord a door has opened
That all Hell could never close 
Here I'm tested and made worthy
Tossed about and lifted up
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God
                   -Rich Mullins

      Now what is the other horrible thing we do to God besides making Him reasonable? We tame His love, we make it a version of our own...we romanticize it, sweeten it, make it syrup-py! It becomes something less risky, something we can control. It is less demanding of us, allows us justly to make others our enemies and love those who are easily loved. I am reminded of the words of C.S. Lewis:

"...(I)t would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
                                      -pgs. 1-2, "The Weight of Glory," C.S. Lewis


     This is why the New Testament writers chose to use the little used "agape" - so it would not be confused with all those other human loves - not that they are bad, they are just not eternal love.

     But beware! Rich Mullins was right. There is a wideness in God's mercy we cannot find in our own. (A friend of mine thought it was "There's a wildness in God's mercy." Maybe he was closer to the Truth.) God's love is for the whole universe God created, and it is a powerful love, this reckless, raging fury that brought the galaxies into being. There are several lessons to be learned here.

     First, God is not a tame God. In his Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis portrays the Christ character as Aslan the Lion. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe this conversation occurs:

"'Who is Aslan?' asked Susan.
'Aslan?' said Mr. Beaver, 'Why don't you know? He's the King...It is he, not you who will save Mr. Tumnus....'
'Is - is he a man?' asked Lucy.
'Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the Great-Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the Great Lion.'
'Oooh!' said Susan. 'I'd thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.'
'That you will, dearie, and no mistake,' said Mrs. Beaver ' if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking they're either braver than most or else just silly.'
'Then he isn't safe?' said Lucy.
'Safe?' said Mr. Beaver. 'Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn't safe. But He's good. He's the King, I tell you.'
'I'm longing to see him,' said Peter, 'even if I do feel frightened when it comes to the point.'" 

A tame lion? A safe God? By the heavens, no! Our God is not a tame God! A God who is tamed is domesticated, controllable. He can be negotiated with, bullied, moved in our directions. And the God of Jesus Christ is no tame God!

     Second, God's love is not a possession, but a participation. The wideness of God's mercy covers the entire creation. We have no right to love only safe people. God's mercy was to all! Christ died once for all! If God loves all, then so must we, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, social status denomination. There are no longer any dividing walls in Christ - no Jew nor Greek, no slave nor free, no male nor female. All are in Christ. All belong to God and if they do, then how can the wideness of our love as Christians be any less!

     Finally, God's love is not a "safe" love. There is risk here. This life is an ocean of God's love upon which we are tossed about. We are tested and in those testings made worthy - we learn more of this love of God and are pulled deeper into the waters. But do not fear the angry deep, for God has always heard the cry of saints in deep waters and in their trials is love's participation. As the hymn says, "In the world's great troubles, risk yourself for God."

     Scary, you say! Yes, for it is holy love from a holy God. But it is only the reckless, raging fury that they call the love of God that could save us. Thanks be to God!