Paul's Passing Thoughts

Located between Cincinnati, Ohio, and my hometown of Dayton, Ohio is the small town of Monroe. This small town boasts big things, and displays them prominently at the corners of its main drag where it crosses I-75, the highway that connects our countries north and south borders from Florida to Michigan. Specifically, on the edges of this super-highway, we have a statue ( representing an imaginative likeness of Jesus Christ) built by Solid Rock Church that towers some forty-feet high, the equivalent to a four-story building. I have worked on the exterior of four-story buildings; trust me, that’s a big  Jesus statue. The statue has invoked  all kinds of responses over the years from satire to admiration, and even claims of spiritual transformation upon the gazing thereof. In the same area, and inescapable as well from anybodies notice at 65 miles per hour, or more, is one of the largest flea markets in the world. Cattycorner to the flea market is Larry Flint’s Hustler Magazine superstore. Surely, no other town in the USA can wow so many people three times in less than fifteen seconds. “Wow mom! `Look at that big Jesus, is that what He really looked like?” Wow mom! Look at that big yellow shopping mall! Hey mom! What’s that?”

Well, you probably heard; the statue depicting Jesus, also sarcastically referred to as the “Touchdown Jesus” and “Butterball Jesus,” was recently struck by lightening and burned with a very impressive inferno against the night sky. Due to the flammable materials used to build the structure, the flames were of, well, biblical proportions. It almost goes without saying that the response to this event has been huge. Pagans are probably proclaiming a new holiday, celebrating the day that Zeus supposedly dissed Jesus, while atheist couldn’t wait to get to work the next day to taunt their Christian coworkers. Christians who loved the statue blame Satan, while Christians who despised the structure give God Himself all the credit, claiming that He destroyed what amounted to a detestable graven image. Others joyfully refer to the remaining metal frame as the “praying mantis.”

For sure, two facts clearly illustrate that God was somehow involved. First, the Bible makes it clear that God is in total control of all lightning:

Job 36:32
He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.
Job 37:11
He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them.
Job 37:15
Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
Job 38:35
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

Secondly, a reliable source has informed me that the statue, and adjacent building were properly grounded, making the strike a significant anomaly.

So, why would God strike this structure with lightning and burn it to the ground? And if He did it because He didn’t like the image, why wouldn’t He just strike everything else with lightning that He doesn’t like, such as the Hustler superstore on the other side of the highway?

To answer the first question, one reason is that Jesus doesn’t care if people know what He looks like or not, but He is very particular about people learning about what he “say[s]” and applying it to their life. In times past, God spoke to us (humanity) through prophets and other means, but we are in an age (time period) that the Bible refers to as the last days, and in these last days, God speaks only through His Son:

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1,2).

Furthermore, Christ made it clear that He speaks to us through His truth as documented in the Bible, and other truth spoken and demonstrated by God in the past, and also documented in the Scriptures:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5: 17-19).

In addition, it’s true, Christ is our savior (John 3:16), but the following is also true: Christ is also Lord, and those who belong to Him must believe in Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord:

Luke 6:46
Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Matthew 7:21
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Christ also said:

Matthew 4:4
Jesus answered, It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Bottom line: Christ is concerned that people live according to what He says objectively, not according to subjective images. Even suppositional images of Jesus, do not convey life:

John 17:17
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Images do not sanctify, this should be apparent by the obvious fact that Jesus did not see fit to leave behind His image, but only His words as documented and superintended in the Bible. Leaving behind His image is hardly a feat that would be beyond His capabilities. In fact, images that distract from the objective, life-giving truth of Scripture has been a huge problem throughout redemptive history, and is the subject of the second commandment:

Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

Seems pretty clear, does it not? A giant statue of Jesus is obviously an image of one who dwells in heaven. Why would you spend $250,000 (the reported cost to build the statue) dollars to break the second commandment? But throughout Scripture, God not only tells us not to do certain things, but tells us why. And again, images have always been a huge problem. When Moses died, Michael the Arch Angel had to contend with Satan to retrieve Moses’ body (Jude 9). Why? Because Satan wanted to set it up as an image for the Israelites to worship, that’s why.

Ok, so why wouldn’t God do this sort of thing all of the time? I don’t know for sure, but this I do know: God adds exclamatory events in the milieu of life to kind-of remind people that He is not a God to be trifled with. Though He is very patient (unlike us, imagine if we could call down lightning on things that displease us!), He sees fit to apply attitudinal tune-ups from time to time. We have an example of this in Acts 5:1-11. Things where going great for the first century church, but apparently, God wanted to make a statement; so, two Christians who merely partook in an act of exaggeration (which unfortunately is sin) where struck dead on the spot. Ouch. Sort-of makes us all want to keep a leery eye towards the sky, but here is what the result of God‘s action was:

Acts 5:11
Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

I imagine. Did the first century church develop an unhealthy fearlessness toward God? If they did, the exclamation point added by God cured the problem.

But what about our last question? Why hasn’t God struck the Hustler superstore with lightning?; or my personal preference, a F-5 tornado? This is probably the easiest question to answer. The Hustler superstore is less of a threat to spiritual wellbeing because it doesn’t feign godliness. Pretty cut and dry on that side of the highway; fairly black and white for most Christians. Besides, judgment begins in the house of  God:

1 Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? [Pagans, atheist, and other naysayers, please note the last fragment of this verse].

I have some advice for the church leaders at Solid Rock Church. If you are going to rebuild the statue, build a statue that emphasis what Jesus says rather than what he looks like. Build an image of an open Bible 65-feet wide and 40-feet high, the same dimensions of the old statue. Then, in big letters on the inside of the open part, inscribe the following: “Why do you call me Lord, and do not what I say?” I  am positive that image will not be struck by lightning. In fact, maybe the next bolt will strike on the other side of the highway. But does lightning strike twice in the same place? It does if God wants it to.

paul