Luther says, "there are none nearer to God in this life than these haters and blasphemers of Him, nor any sons more pleasing to him and beloved by him! ...
Like Job, the 'blasphemer' at least does God the honor of acknowledging God as God. In extremity the sufferer is finally provoked enough, perhaps ultimately in death, to send complaint to the right address. Perhaps we can imagine God saying,
"Ah, at last! I got you to talk to me! You spoke the truth about me in spite of yourself!"... As with Job, the situation is such that suffering leads to truthful speech..."
Isn't it strange that Job accuses God of so much, yet he is credited with truthful speech, whereas his friends with their religious platitudes are rebuked by God? As Luther says elsewhere,
‘‘the
curses of the godless sometimes sound better in God’s ear than the hallelujahs
of the pious.’’It seems that it's in vogue to be an atheist these days and considering these thoughts of Luther, I can't help but wonder if God would be more pleased with the raw honesty of these "blasphemers" than the religious piety of the so-called Christians. The truthful atheist says, if God is so oppressive, I'd rather raise my fist and fight God because I can't accept that kind of a God. The deceitful religious person says, even though God is so oppressive, I'd rather just stay quiet and give him lip-service all the while, seeking to get away with the minimum duty so as not to get in trouble. In this case, I can see how God would prefer the honesty of the atheist. Because his faith is more integrated with who he really is, that atheist has a better chance of really connected with God.
...of course, the gospel person says, in the midst of my oppressive experience, God is still
for me and is
good because of the cross, but that's a different post...
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"I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you...."