But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. – Judges 3:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 31, 2012): Judges 3

I struggle with the passionless God of the Christian Church, as you may gather from a lot of my writings. What I mean by that is that I am not comfortable with our belief that we serve a God who knows everything that will happen in our lives. I have heard all of the arguments, but for me it leads us into a belief in a watchmaker God. If everything is already known, then why do we need an immanent who is near us; closer than even our next breath? If it is true that everything in creation has already been set, then God’s reaction to all of our circumstances is already decided – and God can basically phone in his responses. And we are left with a reactionless and passionless God.

But that is not the God that I find in the Bible. In the Bible, God reacts to his creation. He is distressed when there is sin in our lives, sometimes allowing struggles to enter into our existence so that we will learn to trust in him. But he is also distressed when the trouble threatens to overwhelm us. The repeated phrase in the Bible is that “he hears our cries.” His passion is aroused – to the point where God comes down and does something about the circumstances of our lives. It is the repeated rhythm that is found throughout the book of Judges. The people become apathetic about the things of God. As a result of the apathy, God’s presence is removed and evil enters into the existence of the people – until a point is reached where the people realize that what is missing is God, and they cry out to him. And the Creator of all that we see and know hears the cries, and he responds and comes to our rescue. In the book of Judges, that response is often the raising up of a protector for the people – one that is changed by an immanent and passion filled God.

I also understand all that the Bible says about a omniscient (all-knowing) God. I understand all that the Scripture says about a God that knows the number of our days. And I do not want to be in the position of saying that I disagree with the Word of God (which I do not.) But as much as I believe in a God that knows the number of my days, I also believe in a passionate God that not only hears my cries, but has the ability to step into my timeline and make a difference because he has heard. Any belief system that handicaps either of these abilities is to make God less than he really is. And that limitation of God is in itself, a sin.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges 4