The Plain-Clothed God

I do not know the source of this story, but I will convey it as I recall hearing it from a pulpit:

A missionary family’s vehicle stopped working. This family was heavily involved in serving their rural community and suffered many hardships due to the lack of the vehicle. The missionary family prayed dutifully for God to provide but months passed. Finally, a man came forward who donated his vehicle to the family. Though grateful and excited, the missionary was bewildered over the wait and asked God about it in prayer. The story goes that God responded by saying that He had asked two or three other people prior but that this man who made the donation was the first to respond…

This story accentuates the ideas I will share here in two ways. First, it reminds us that all good gifts come from our Father in heaven - who does see, hear, and answer. Second, it also counter-balances that thought with the reminder that God acts upon human individuals who may or may not respond. While the first point will be emphasized here, it is not meant to erase the validity of the second.

Nevertheless, if I choose to give you a vehicle I know you need, I may be tempted to feel that I was the initiator, the observer, the listener, the giver, and the momentary hero. Verbalized or not, we do feel something when we sacrifice on another’s behalf or feel we have contributed positively to someone else’s life - don’t we?

I find myself looking back to realize that all good gifts, sacrifices, and swaying godly movements in my life have come from my lavishing Father above. All good gifts have come from Him - even if that was Him inspiring the actions of others around me.

Again, we cannot turn this idea into Main Character Crush; too much of our culture is already plagued in this way. (The ‘God loves me most’ mentality.) God looks after all of His children, the actions and motives of everyone matters, and it’s really not all about you (or me).

Still, we also cannot take credit for what God inspires or provides.

Does This Subtle Shift Matter?

Why is this shift in thought important?

After half a lifetime of mistaking givers for gods and receivers for deserving, I can tell you why.

The benefit of acknowledging God’s compassion for you as being far above any man or woman’s kindnesses towards you is the hopeful total destruction of false idols, flimsy pedestals, misattributed character points, and erroneous emotional attachments.

You will eventually find that the church that paid your bills a month ago is not a perfected church; the adoptive or fostering parents who took you in will prove to have far less glowy moments in the dark; and that the kind stranger who taught your daughter to fish and paid for the bills also has his secrets and secret motivations. We may be so lucky as to entertain angels for a time, but these too will vanish like ghosts in the end.

Long-term relationships are most troubling. The parent, guardian, spouse, pastor, boss, mentor, sister, childhood friend - they will all want credit for their better movements in your life (and hope to disown you in the lesser ones!). Even the church seems to want credit for salvation, tallying those decision cards up at the end of the service (one must ask why?)…

May I suggest to not give them credit? Instead, give God credit, and give the people in your life a measure of respect.

Giving credit to people for their good deeds too often turns into mishandling actions and character (and intent). Don’t get me wrong: Actions are often correlated with good or bad character in general. However, sycophants, manipulators, liars, theives, and murderers all employ deceptive actions to secure perceived gains.

Actions do say something about a person.

Actions do say something about a person’s character.

Actions, good or bad, do not always correspond with like, good or bad, character.

(They will eventually. You can know a tree by its fruit given time. But some sins have a significant lag time.)

Whether we feel guarded, suspicious, confused, googly-eyed, or impressed, however, we can afford a measure of gratitude and respect to the people who see, hear, and act upon our lives. I may recognize that God used you in my life, acknowledge the sacrifice and energy your actions bestowed, fully appreciate and be moved by, even respect the role you played in my situation, while still reserving credit for God alone and reserving judgment (good or bad) upon who you are in the larger picture.

A murderer has shown me great kindness in the past. But he was, at another time, someone’s Cain.

Whether stranger or familial familiar, we’ve all encountered people we thought we knew until we didn’t. We have all been the person someone else thought they knew - for better or worse - regardless of the momentary or overall impact left behind.

Matthew 10:8

Heal the ailing, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons! Freely you received; freely give.

There is no need to disregard gratitude nor the due measure of respect when it is within our power to give, even if withholding credit or character points or agreement with another.

It is wise to be slow about some things where mortals are concerned.

Concluding Thoughts

James 5:13

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Proverbs 27:2

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s;

Render to God what is God’s;

Render to mortals what God says:

To do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.

It is just to give thanks when thanks is due.

It is to love mercy to understand that your gift may arrive through a broken vessel.

It is humility to remember that it is God’s mercies and justices at work in your life - in the visible and invisible graces and gifts. Yes, you might say it is God working undercover.

Give God credit. Give to others justice and mercy (which pretty well defines both giver and receiver, right?)

I leave you with my favorite song in like-theme:

Time and Space

Tyler Childers

Excerpt:

Oh, and out in the woods

This picture is clear to me

I owe my life to even my enemies

The ones who have loved me, the ones who have tried

Their grips on my heart, and their grips on my mind

The stranger I pass, my momma, brothers

Friends and my father, they're God undercover

I'm tellin' you now in case I must go

Want you to know….