By: The Rev. Prof. Stephen Noll

The Christian Church gives testimony that in the actual events of our existence there are words and gestures through which the Creator and Sustainer of this world has spoken and acted. Benjamin Franklin said this:

“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?”

God is not prone to “interventions” and then to be otherwise absent. Scripture and the experience of the church does not lend itself to an idea that God is simply a religious experience who is somehow separated from the world. Within scripture and the Church, there is a true rendering of the character and purpose of God, the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists, and it is He that determines what is good and just. Our testimony to life rests on a historical Jesus who manifested and lived a relationship of love and obedience to the one he called Father. Those who believe and follow have been enabled through the presence of the Holy Spirit to participate in this relationship born out of a love that God has for His creation.

Likewise, to “hope in His steadfast love” should not be for us a momentary or situational experience – an intervention, so to speak – of religion in our lives. At the center of our lives stands the cross of Christ. On this cross was slain all shame and dereliction – it has become for us our source of life. Seeking God and fostering our relationship with him should be to us a day by day, moment by moment, experience. As we evaluate that place and role we have in His creation, he takes pleasure in us as we fear and hope in Him.