Rusty Wonders

Some things cause me to wonder.  For example, the little box of dye that temporarily turns gray beards back to their original brown or black is called Just for Men.  They print it prominently on the front of the box.  I can’t imagine why they would do that, other than to prevent women from using it to dye their beards.  “Keep away, ladies, this beard dye is just for men.  You women will have to get your own.”  

I wonder how many husbands have heard their wives say something like: 

“Honey, have you noticed how my beard has been slowly turning gray over the years?  I sure wish I could put some of your dye on it; you know, to bring back the natural brown I had when we married, but the box says it’s Just for Men.”

   

“You don’t need that, dear.  I like your beard with the gray.  It’s distinguished looking, and the gray goes especially well with your blue lipstick.  It gives your face that Civil War Reenactment look.”

“Thanks, Honey, that’s sweet, but I’d still like to get that gray out.  It makes me self-conscious when I’m around younger women with their dark moustaches and beards.”

“Well, you’re welcome to try it, but there must be some reason it’s clearly labeled just for men.  Maybe it won’t work on women’s beards?”

“But how could a woman’s beard be so much different than a man’s?  Hair is hair.”

“Well there must be some difference or they wouldn’t have made such a point of it on the box.  I think you’d better use the shoe polish under the sink.”  

“But won’t that make my beard shiny?”

“No, I don’t think so, not unless you buff it.”

I also wonder about the side mirrors on cars that say, “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”  

Is that really a good idea?

“Mr. Bonneville, Have you heard?  I’ve designed a mirror we can put on the side of a car so the driver can see the vehicles behind him without turning around.”

“That’s great, Johnson, good work!”

“And I designed it so the vehicles look like they’re further away than they really are.”

“What’s that again?  Did you say you designed it so the vehicles would look further away than they are?”

“That’s right, Sir.”

  

“Johnson, are you mad?  Do you have any idea how many accidents that will cause?”

“Accidents, Sir?”

“Think about it!  A driver checks his side mirror.   The semi in the next lane appears to be several car lengths back.  So he moves into the semi’s lane, only to discover that the semi is already upon him.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that, Mr. Bonneville.”

“Well what in the world were you thinking of, Johnson?  Isn’t the purpose of the mirror to let you know how close the approaching traffic is, and if it’s safe to change lanes?”

“I suppose it is Sir.”

“You suppose it is!   Now get back to the design floor and come up with a mirror that’s accurate!”

“Well the problem is, Sir-------the mirrors are already in production.”

“In production!  Who authorized that?”

“Well, Sir, It was Mr. Cadillac himself.  He came onto the floor and saw the design and thought it was great.  He has authorized them on every vehicle.

“Every vehicle?  This is madness!”

“It gets worse, Sir.  Other car companies have already purchased rights to the design.  These mirrors will be everywhere soon.   But I have an idea.  Suppose we etch a message onto each mirror; something like, warning, the cars in the mirror are closer than they look.”

    

“You want to take an already faulty, dangerous mirror, and clutter it up with a disclaimer?”

“That’s right, Sir.”

“You propose that we etch a warning onto every side mirror we make, so drivers trying to see the traffic in the mirrors will also have to see the message telling them the traffic is closer than it looks.”

“That’s what I’m proposing, Sir.”

“Johnson, you’re a genius!  You’re going to go far in this business.  Now get back to work on that car that falls apart a year after the warranty expires.”

“Right away, Sir.  Thank you, Mr. Bonneville.”

Some things leave us scratching our heads.  That’s true, of course, even when we read God’s Word.  For example, the Bible says God is sovereign over all events on earth, from the greatest to the least.  

“…He does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth.  No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’”  (Daniel 4:35)

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1)

“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will.”  (Ephesians 1:11)

When you and I make major decisions, we seek counsel from those we think may be wiser than we are (automobile designers, for example).   God need not seek any counsel other than that of His own will.  There is no higher counsel than that.   But the point we are underscoring here is that there is a sense in which all things that take place here are in accordance with the will of God.   This is a conundrum for us in two major respects:

First, we do not normally perceive any divine restraints upon our actions.  From our perspective, we could, if we were so inclined, do something dramatic that would forever change the course of our lives, or the lives of others.  I’m thinking of something even more dramatic than dyeing our beards or wearing blue lipstick; maybe something like intentionally ramming that semi that’s passing us on the right.  It is very hard for us to believe that God can exercise sovereign control over what we feel to be the free actions of an independent agent.   The short answer to that quandary is:  because he designed us, because He’s aware of every influence in our lives, because He knows our thoughts and motivations, and because He is not bound by time, but is rather, the author of it, nothing we do comes as any surprise to Him.

Second, it’s hard for us to believe that God exercises sovereign control over all things on earth because things are in such a mess here:  wars, famines, tornadoes, violent crimes, tsunamis, pandemics, child abuse…the list could go on and on.  

“Do you expect me to believe that those terrible things are somehow in accordance with the will of God?   Is murder according to the will of God?”  

No, of course not, if by “the will of God,” we mean His will for His creatures as revealed in His Word.  We could call this His revealed will; some theologians, who can evidently get away with making new words, call it God’s preceptive will, or the will of His precepts (or laws). 

God is quite clear that it is not His will that we murder.   

But when the Bible speaks of God doing according to His will on earth, it’s referring to what has been called His decretive will, or the will of His decrees.  In other words, given man’s fall, and the state of things down here until Christ returns to set things right, murder is a reality. Insofar as God permits it to occur (since of course He could stop it by immediately intervening and bringing earth’s sordid history to a sudden close) we must affirm that He has decreed that it should happen.  Murder is itself an evil, but God temporarily permits it for reasons that will ultimately be revealed to all to be good.  Those reasons involve His patience, His mercy, and His offer of forgiveness and eternal life to all who will repent of their sins and transfer their trust to Christ, the one who lived and died for sinners. Do you long for God to intervene and put an end to all evil on Earth?  That day will come.  The cup of His wrath will one day be full.  But be thankful that you live in a day of mercy. 

For a more in-depth look at God's sovereignty, you might want to check out my video message, “Who’s in Charge Here?”  You can find it at: https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=915111934262  Warning: People on the video are larger than they appear..

Note: This slice of Wry Bread was included, in similar form, in the book of the same name, but Rusty wondered why it should not also be here.  Apparently he dwells in a perpetual state of wonder.