You are reading this for a reason

"You know, I don't get the whole 'belief' thing, but you've got to think that things like that happen for a reason. Maybe you can't really understand until later, looking back, but there's gotta be a reason for something like that. I don't know..."

It was late in the evening, the day after Christmas, and my agnostic father-in-law and I were discussing - over eggnog and rum - the extraordinary circumstances surrounding my son's adoption. I was careful not to use the word "miracle" in the first announcement I sent out. But in our Christmas letter, I resorted to the hyperbolic term "miraculous" to describe the totally unexpected and wonderful turn of events.

"I would describe it more accurately as providence. It wasn't literally a miracle, at least I don't think so, " I said. I stood up and felt the effect of the rum more strongly, telling me it was time to shut my mouth for both drink and talk, and soon my wife and mother-in-law returned from a long hard day of thrift-store shopping on Long Island. The rum soon wore off, but his comments stuck in my mind.

You cannot say that God doesn't exist, or exists but remains utterly uninvolved, and simultaneously claim that anything happens for a "reason" - i.e. a purpose. Everything has a cause, but that is not the same as a purpose. Only the actions of persons - God, human beings, and to some degree higher animals - have purpose.

Reason, also, is a personal characteristic. Inanimate objects are never reasonable or unreasonable, they simply are. If we say that a product is ridiculous or nonsensical, we are actually making a judgment about the designers of that product. If we say a law is irrational or unjust, we are in fact making a statement about the actions of those who wrote and implemented it.

To claim that something happened for a reason, is to claim that a person allowed it, enabled it, or brought it about - in order to achieve a particular end. It is almost always implied that the particular end is good (hence the encouragement to found in such a claim). And normally, we're not talking about a human being, or else we would say that, "So-and-So did this because..." In claiming a reason - i.e. a purpose - behind anything, we are in fact acknowledging God's involvement in our world. Only a good, personal, all-powerful God orchestrates events to bring about an intended and beneficial conclusion.

Which brings me to the title of this post. You are reading this, primarily, because I (a human person) wrote it, and because you (another human person) chose to read it. I wrote it because it has been on my mind for several days, and because I enjoy writing. You, dear reader, are probably reading this because you are very bored (although other motivations could be imagined). But what if - and it's a big IF - there is some grander design behind this intersection of reading and writing? Just Who would be responsible for that?

The Frustrated Savior

The last time I was frustrated with the results of an election, I moped for a few days until I was suddenly struck by a realization that has buoyed me ever since - and always will.

Jesus couldn't vote. He wasn't even a citizen. The rightful ruler of the universe, the true Lord of Heaven and Earth, was merely a subject under a corrupt king and an impostor "lord" called Caesar. He had no voice. He had no Bill of Rights. The actual owner of everything paid taxes to a corrupt system which ultimately executed him.

I can imagine Jesus turning in disgust to his disciples, after yet another report of power-mad behavior from Herod, and exclaiming, " You know, where I come from, we do not do things this way!" Jesus understands political frustration - he lived with it his entire life.

In 2004, some people were so depressed over Bush's re-election that they went into counseling or on anti-depressant medication. This was rightfully mocked, but it's hard to blame those who are secular for responding in such a way. Their "higher power" is government. C.S. Lewis wryly observed that, "A man who will not believe in God will [instead] believe in anything." These days, they often believe in politicians. But when government is god, politicians are messiahs, and politics is religion, what hope is left when you lose an election?

Christians ought to know better. As Gutenberg College professor Charlie Dewberry put it, "If politics can fix a problem, then Christianity is a lie." If you know that mankind is hopelessly fallen, then you will not look to human institutions, ideas, or leaders for salvation in any sense. If you truly believe that God is sovereign, then political (or economic) events are far less frightening. If your hope "is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness," an election is unlikely to squash that hope.

No matter what happens in American (or foreign) politics, Jesus - who was rejected by the public and unjustly received the death penalty - will remain in the highest office: slowly, painfully, but surely advancing his kingdom.