God Ain't Dead!

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:15-17 ESV). James DeLoach, recounted an experience of viewing a painting that brought to mind the wonderful truth of the eternal hope we have in Christ. He wrote: I am not a connoisseur of great art, but from time to time a painting or picture will really speak a clear, strong message to me. Some time ago I saw a picture of an old burned-out mountain shack. All that remained was the chimney...the charred debris of what had been that family’s sole possession. In front of this destroyed home stood an old grandfather-looking man dressed only in his underclothes with a small boy clutching a pair of patched overalls. It was evident that the child was crying. Beneath the picture were the words, which the artist felt the old man was speaking to the boy. They were simple words, yet they presented a profound theology and philosophy of life. Those words were, “Hush child, God ain’t dead!” “God ain’t dead!” There are times in my life that I need to be reminded that God is life and will forever be life. The picture of the old grandfather standing in front of the burned out home is a reminder of that hope. That’s often difficult to do in the face of calamity. Having grown up in Galveston, I am very familiar with hurricanes. They can be very destructive storms that last for extended periods of time. It is always a temptation to ask why God would allow such devastation to exist. And, though there are answers to that question, the answer is not as comforting as the truth that God is in control. Even hurricanes are necessary to maintain a balance in nature. These tropical storms, with winds up to 150 miles an hour and accompanied by torrential rains, glaring lightning, and rumbling thunder, can be devastating. Yet scientists tell us they are tremendously valuable. They dissipate a large percentage of the oppressive heat, which builds up at the equator, and they are indirectly responsible for much of the rainfall in North and South America. Meteorologists therefore no longer use cloud-seeding techniques to prevent them from being formed. They are convinced that hurricanes actually do more good than harm. The Apostle Paul, in our reading this morning, reminds us of that same principle. In the face of any difficulty, we don’t need to act as if we are slaves, cowering in the face of challenge. We are God’s own children and therefore may face life with the knowledge that we have hope in the face of seeming hopelessness. Corrie Ten Boom said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Don’t let fear of the future rob you of your present joy. You rest in God’s hands, your eternal Father, who will never leave you!