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February, 2004
HOW GOD WORKS
Paul T. Stallsworth
We believe that God -- whose Name
is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- has been, is, and will be at
work in this world. The final goal of His work is to redeem the
whole world. That is, the ultimate aim of His work is to perfect
this world, to bring this world totally under the loving rule of
Jesus Christ, to establish the Kingdom of God in power and glory
in this world.
Until the Kingdom comes
completely, how does God work? According to the Bible and to the
Church’s Tradition, God works in two ways: through the Kingdom of
Grace and through the Kingdom of Law.
As naturally as they know 2 + 2 =
4, all Christians know that God is active through the Kingdom of
Grace. For through the Church, God’s saving grace is made present
and powerful in this world. Through his Church, God makes sure
that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and taught, that the
Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion are rightly celebrated,
that sin is known and despised and forgiven, that people are saved
from sin and death and the evil one, that people are led to live
loving and holy lives. The Church is evidence of the Kingdom of
Grace, and the Church is a colony of the Kingdom of Grace.
The Kingdom of Grace is the way
that Christians usually understand God’s work in this world. This
kingdom involves bringing people into a right and personal
relationship with God the Father through God the Son in the power
of God the Spirit. It often includes conversion and baptism,
repentance and forgiveness, a commitment to the Church, and an
increase in faith, hope, and love. However, this is not the only
way God works in this world.
For God also works through the
Kingdom of Law. That is, he can also be active through the
world’s structures of justice. Governments, with their civil and
criminal laws, and institutions, with their rules and policies,
can be agents for accomplishing God’s hidden, more mysterious
purposes.
For example, take the case of a
driver who clearly runs a red light and is caught by a police
officer. The driver is ticketed, called to court, found guilty,
and fined. At first glance, many would assume that God had
nothing to do with this incident. However, after some thought,
God’s work can be discerned in the police department and the court
system. For the driver is brought to acknowledge the error of his
ways, to a new obedience to traffic laws in his driving, and
perhaps even to a new humility in his daily living. Therefore,
through the Kingdom of Laws, God is at work in the life of this
corrected driver.
For another example, picture a
fifth-grade girl who talks with her friends entirely too much
during her classes in school. After refusing five times to heed
her teacher’s warnings to refrain from talking, the student is
sent to the principal’s office for a conference. The parents of
the child are informed of what has happened, and they are invited
to the school to speak with their daughter’s teacher and
principal. Conversing with the teacher and principal, the parents
assume that their daughter has done nothing wrong, resist the
school officials’ judgment of their daughter, and even argue that
their daughter is being unjustly punished. By acting in this way,
they could not imagine that God is working through the teacher and
principal. In the end, they deny their daughter the opportunity
to reform.
Too often, Christians try to get
around the Kingdom of Law. Too often, without thinking, we act
like the Kingdom of Law is simply negative, punitive, harmful, and
without redeeming quality. But the Kingdom of Law can be a way
that God works in our lives. It can wake us up, underline our
errors and immoralities, demand payment for our mistakes, point us
in a new direction, and offer us an opportunity to change our
lives. In fact, the Kingdom of Law can remind us of our need for
God and for his Kingdom of Grace and forgiveness.
To be sure, the Kingdom of Law is
not perfect in all its judgments. It makes mistakes. It can
lapse into injustice and unfairness. But in many cases, the
Kingdom of Law can be a way for God to reach out to people and
bring them into a new life.
From February 2004 St. Peter's Post |
