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Monday, December 12, 2011

God and the Denver Broncos

            The Denver Broncos won their football game Sunday, defeating the Chicago Bears 13-10 in overtime.  The Broncos won only one of their first five games, but have now won seven of their last eight.

            This change in fortunes coincided with a change in starting quarterbacks, as Kyle Orton was benched in favor of Tim Tebow.  Tebow makes no secret of his Christian faith.  He states it clearly in every interview and public statement he makes.  He also assumes a posture of prayer after every touchdown, a posture which has become known as “Tebowing” and has been widely imitated, sometimes mockingly, sometimes sincerely.

            The Broncos’ sudden change in fortunes, combined with Tebow’s unapologetic faith and the fact that they have won many of these games either in the last seconds or in overtime, has prompted some to ask—sometimes jokingly, sometimes seriously—whether God might be helping the Broncos win.  If we assume the existence of an all-powerful God, then by definition God could help the Broncos win if God so chose.  The question, then, is not whether God could do such a thing, but whether God would do it.  In other words, would such an action be consistent with God’s character?  I think it’s an interesting question, because the way we answer it reveals our view of who God is and how God acts.

            Some people believe in what’s been called the Divine Watchmaker theory of God.  According to this belief, God created the universe and set it in motion, the way a watchmaker would create and wind up an old-fashioned watch.  Then, God sits back and watches it tick away.  God may observe what’s going on, but God does so passively, not taking any action to affect anything.  This view would not preclude God’s final judgment, but until that time happens, God will not get involved in what we do.  In this view, of course God is not helping the Denver Broncos, because God never takes any action to affect our lives.

            At the other end of the spectrum, there are people who believe that God controls, or at least affects, everything we do.  This is the belief that “everything happens for a reason,” that God controls every choice we make, including what I had for breakfast this morning and my decision to address this topic today.  In this view, of course God is making the Denver Broncos win, because God controls every aspect of our lives.

            There are also people who believe in what could be called the God of the Big Picture.  In this view, God may take actions that affect the wide sweeps of history—world wars and so on—but does not get involved in the daily lives of ordinary people.  To suggest that God would do such a thing is considered an affront to the power and majesty of God.  In this view, God would never become involved in something as trivial as the outcome of a football game.  To even suggest that God would do such a thing would be an insult to God.

            Then there are people who believe that God does, in fact, get involved in the day-to-day lives of ordinary people.  In this view, God does not dictate our every action, but God does sometimes influence us to do certain things or to go in certain directions.  The times when God does this are entirely times of God’s choosing, not ours.  We can pray and ask God to act in certain ways, but God will decide when and how God will act.  In this view, God may or may not be helping Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos, but it would not be inconsistent with God’s character for God to do so.

            There are obviously other views one could take of God, and various shades and degrees of these views.  This is not intended to be a comprehensive list.  As for me, I tend toward the last of those views.

            I do so because I’ve seen times when God has worked in my life.  I’ve seen the vast number of “coincidences” that all happened for me to be able to meet and marry Wanda.  I’ve seen all the things that “just happened to fall into place” for me to be able to become a pastor.  I’m convinced that God was at work in my life at these and other times, and was influencing my life to go in the direction it has.

            Can I prove that?  No.  If you take a different view of God than I do, I cannot prove that you’re wrong, nor would I say that such a view makes you a bad Christian.  I don’t claim to fully understand God.  I don’t think it’s possible for a human to fully understand God.  The reason they call it faith is because it’s something we cannot prove.  All I can do is tell you my experiences, and tell you the conclusion to which those experiences have led me.

            Does that mean God is helping Tim Tebow and the Broncos win football games?  I don’t know.  I do believe, though, that God has acted in my life.  I believe God will act in your life, too, if you ask God to do so (and, sometimes, even if you don’t).  God’s actions may not be what we want, but they will be what we need.

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