God's Hegelian Dialect Part I: The Problem

The Problem

Our relationship with God began with Provision, the stuff of life. You know, the things and stuff that we cannot live without. Stuff like our bodies made of atoms arranged in molecules. None of those bonded atoms forming molecules have ever been alive, but all of them are you, and you are alive. That's not a chemical accident, and neither are you. That is the miracle of Provision, along with food, clothing, cute waitresses, hot tubs, Lamborghinis, and all the other necessities of life.

Okay, I don't really need the Lamborghini. I just want it. Hot tubs, too. The remainder is non-negotiable, and so is Provision. Without Provision, we are and have nothing. Provision is absolutely necessary and all Provision comes from God, even the most negotiable. From the unnecessary and the frivolous to the substance of you, all Provided by the Undivided.

Consider how many atoms you have created from a formless void. None. Everything you and I have, or ever will have is, was, and will be an act of God’s Provision. But why would He do such a thing? What's His angle? What do we owe Him in return? Where is the quid pro quo? That's our human nature at work. Always doubting, always on the defense, always fearing the coup de grace, the killing blow that concludes the negotiation. That is what the human form of grace looks like. We're looking for the price tag, the hook, and eventually the sting. It is God's  Nature to Create each of us as both provided (for others) and provided for (others for us),  the sum of which is our human Provision. The human family which crosses all races, all genders, all ethnicity, all borders, and every other superficial difference which separates thee from me. The whole being greater than the sum of its parts. That is a trademark of God.

Our relationship with God has one more element, another trademark of God. Our Father's desire for our happiness. That desire is called, Lovingkindness. Yes, Lovingkindness is a real word, but unfortunately we find very few applications for it in our modern world. We might feel something similar to Lovingkindness for our children, but our kids are also a point of personal pride for a parent. 


Lovingkindness embodies perfect selfless love, but we are not fully capable of true selflessness. It's not that we don't try or don't desire the experience, but we lack the ability to dispense perfect selfless love. Lovingkindness is not something that we possess in our rather limited collection of “gazoftiks”. Yes, gazoftiks is a real word, too. A real word that my father made up. It means “improvised tools”.  There is an old saying, “If the only tool you have is a hammer suddenly all your problems look like nails.” You don't accomplish much but you're destructive as can be. The Romans and the Temple apparatchik thought their problem could be solved by nails. Three of them to be specific. That's a human trademark.

If we searched for the human face of Lovingkindness, Mother Theresa and Gandhi come close to filling the order, at least our idealized versions of these saints. In my understanding, my worldview, only Jesus Christ makes the grade. In my picture book dictionary the entry for Lovingkindness has a picture of Jesus on the Cross in the moment He said,

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

I neglected to mention that my picture book dictionary has audio. Pretty cool, huh?

Lovingkindness holds forgiveness, as well. It isn't the type of forgiveness which we are familiar with in our legalistic system, our increasingly legalistic families, or our increasingly disparent churches. The Lovingkindness form of forgiveness is preemptive. God has Provided the solution for the problem before the problem existed. That Solution is named Jesus Christ.


So, there is The Solution. Yes, I know I didn't write much about The Problem, but that's how God works. He's pre-emtive. He provides The Solution before The Problem exists. That's another trademark of God.

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