You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earthand wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart. Psalm 104:14-15
The picture you see is my first attempt at growing hops in the backyard, these being of the Brewers Gold variety which is used in English and Belgian beers as a bittering hop. I also have a Fuggle vine growing, though it has not produced discernable flowers/cones yet. A late bloomer I suppose. The other picture is of the back deck complete with many of the green and growing things Michelle has been cultivating since earlier this spring. Some things have come up very well, some not as well as expected. As I started to expound in my last post, these things are clear indications of Providence, the outward manifestation of God's guiding hand in the affairs of men and though our planning, preparing, and cultivating are necessary work, the results belong to Him alone. When things work out well, we tend to forget this and attribute success to our own resources and to "natural" law, as if the universe operates on principles that are somehow independent of God.
(For the theologically conversant - I do realize that "natural law" is commonly used to describe the uniformity of nature, but I am critiquing the practical atheism that often accompanies such ideas, since the Bible clearly teaches that "natural" causes are in fact Divine causes. The uniformity we observe is merely the "regular" consistency of God, while other "miraculous" events should be subtitled under the same consistency, though a broader definition of consistency and a humble, teachable spirit is required to appreciate it. There is nothing inconsistent about Jesus turning water to wine or healing someone of a grave disease, given that He was God Incarnate, maker and sustainer of "natural" laws.)
But when things don't turn out well we should be reminded both of our inability to accomplish everything we intend, as well as the fact that God may be trying to get our attention. Several illustrations will make my point.
One of my last batches of beer was a biere de garde, a recipe that is fast becoming a staple for my homebrew palate. I am gratified to know that most who have tasted it have enjoyed it. And so my confidence grew, perhaps with a bit of pride. After all, I've not had to dump many batches of beer. Until…this particular batch was made with a slightly difference recipe, but nothing profoundly out of order. Fermentation, bottling, and storage went without incident, until the 2-3 week mark, which is the "usual" time for carbonation to develop. Much to my disappointment, at the 2 week mark there was no carbonation and at 4 weeks there is a little more but not enough to create the flavor and palate for which it was intended. It may yet come into its own, albeit late, or it may be destined for fertilizer.
I can go with two reasons for failure here - Jeff made a mistake or God withheld His favor (at least for now). The first reason is likely in this case, but not always the correct cause. The second reason is definitely true, though not necessarily linked the first. In other words, God can withhold a good result from being produced because of a mistake I made, due to my fallibility, or He can withhold that result just because He wills it, despite the proper preparation and execution. This does not make God capricious but is a reminder that the uniformity of causes (natural law) is not as clear cut as we would like it to be and is not dependent on human categories. Job learned this lesson quite painfully, the facts of which are recorded in Scripture for us to learn without the benefit of his experience, as should all such warnings and lessons be applied.
The other illustration goes to my back deck and the passage in Psalm 104 quoted above. God makes the green things grow because the cows need to eat and man needs food, ointment, and drink for his whole health, body, mind, and spirit. We consider the growth of food as "natural" or worse, a "right" to which man is privy, due to the "natural" law of hunger. Yet God is the originator of such growth and as a consequence, He is the originator of well-fed cows and healthy people. (God also gives enjoyment of food and drink, which itself is a grace. Woe to the man who eats and drinks yet is not satisfied - see Ecclesiastes 6) The clear import is that food and drink, when in short supply, may or may not be caused by faulty human activity, but certainly comes directly from God, whether through secondary agencies or not, meaning He is also the originator of sick cows and unhealthy people.
This may seem a very verbose way of stating an obvious truth, but our actions and attitudes often overlook that human faithfulness can often times produce bad results. We're not accustomed to thinking that way because our commitment to "natural" law, which assumes when the money is placed in the machine, the candy bar predictably comes out. Yet God is not beholden to us; quite the opposite.
So where does this leave us? It leaves us in the humility we were born to, creatures dependent upon God for everything. This may sound like overstatement, but in my own life I sense that the practical atheism of my day-to-day expectations is much more prevalent than I would like to imagine. Rain and drought, the growth of hops, peppers, and herbs, and the magnificent yeast that produces beer all belong to God, not the weatherman, scientist, farmer, or brewer. This should make our enjoyment of such gifts even more delectable since even with all our sinfulness, God does not give us what our offenses deserve and what our finiteness cannot produce.
The next time you drink, consider the brewer's work, the equipment he uses and its design and fabrication; the skill required to use equipment, create a recipe, bottle, deliver, and get it to the store; the ingredients and the rain needed to grow living things, the dirt in which it is nourished; the farmer who must tend to all aspects of its growth and contend with conditions far beyond his control. Many, many things which could go wrong and don't. All of these things in order for us to eat and drink, all of these things under the control of a benevolent God who amongst gifts uncountable, gives us beer.
Imbibe and enjoy with sobriety and in remembrance of such things, your mind firmly fixed on Him. For the profane and self-righteous, this is foolishness since beer is merely a happy accident of superior human effort wrangling with natural law. Yet for the humble Christian, beer will never taste better when enjoyed as a divinely ordained gift meant to cheer man's heart, unnaturally pleasant in a corrupt and fallen world.
As a pastor and newbie homebrewer, I appreciate your embrace of nature and grace and the God of both. His mercies are new every morning, and there's always the next batch!
Posted by
nerdypastor |
September 16, 2007 6:53 PM