Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” — Exodus 3:13–14 (ESV)
Okay, what’s still on the table is these questions. If truth itself created the universe, why is there evil? What happens to free will if God sees the future? What happens to responsibility?
That’s not even the complete list. Don’t forget, “How does this universe glorify God?” I promise that we’ll get to all of it. You may not like the answers. You may not even want to call them “answers,” but they will definitely get addressed.
Great. Let’s go.
Okay, let me ask you a question. What is the main difference between Shakespeare and Romeo?
Shakespeare is a real person, and Romeo is a fictional character.
Bingo. That’s the difference between God and us—God is in a way that we’re not. Just as Shakespeare is more real than Romeo, God is more real than we are.
That’s crazy talk.
Is it? This is, of course, impossible for us to grasp; we’re supposed to be humbled by it.
But the difference between created beings and their creator is much more than just a difference in the dimension of time. It’s a difference in being. To be or to be, that is the question.
When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He called himself “I AM.” He was claiming something very unique there. This is why Christians call Him, “The great I am.”
Okay, but I don’t really understand it.
Me neither. It’s one of those doctrines that you mostly just memorize and move on, but I’m not totally giving up. Remember, we’re trying to understand how this universe can glorify God. Let’s look at another created universe and its glorious purposes—A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
I’m familiar with the story, but I’m not seeing the connection here.
This is all about higher purposes, which we’ve already shown are external to created universes. So, what are the higher purposes in A Christmas Carol? For example, what is the purpose of Jacob Marley’s suffering?
I suppose that Marley’s suffering is to get Ebenezer Scrooge’s attention and to prepare him for the visits of the three ghosts.
Good, but that’s just part of Dickens’s even higher purposes. Marley’s suffering—and Tiny Tim’s too—form the basis of the moral of the story. They are part of the higher purpose of teaching charity to the audience.
This in turn fits into the even higher purpose of Dickens’s lifelong crusade to improve the lives of the poor in London. Charles was offended by the deprivations they suffered, and many of his works shone a light on their conditions.
So we see two takeaways from A Christmas Carol. First, Dickens illustrates the evils that pervaded life in London at that time. That’s a classic example of higher purposes.
But the second one is even deeper. Inside the story, all the pain and suffering has a single purpose—the character development of the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge. His development is more important than the lives of all the other characters. It’s the key.
That’s just wild.
But it is what happens in A Christmas Carol. So, let me ask you, “Can A Christmas Carol glorify Charles Dickens despite all the pain and suffering?”
Of course. I guess that’s your point about how this universe can glorify God.
Partly. Note how this fits perfectly with the Bible. Character development is a relentless theme in scripture. From Abraham, to Jacob, to David, and even to Christ Himself, we see character development emphasized. Look at what Hebrews 5:7–8 says.
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. (ESV)
Almost every character in the Bible is subjected to trials that lead to character development. Scripture records that character development, not just the events that spawned it. If that wasn’t important, the accounts wouldn’t have emphasized it so.
But there’s one book of the Bible that tracks this theme almost identically to how A Christmas Carol tracks it.
What’s that?
The book of Job, and it’s the one book of the Bible that many Christians say they don’t understand. We’re going to be on this one a while.
See you tomorrow.
