I’ve never been very good at maths, but one thing I have always liked is the sense that you know where you stand with the subject! 2 plus 2 always equals 4. 3 multiplied by 5 always equals 15. I even liked algebra at school because I was given a set of rules to follow, and if I did what was required, I would get the right answer. That kind of definitive linear learning was something I really appreciated.
Most of us want life to follow the same kind of patterns we find in mathematics. We don’t like ambiguity or nuance. We want to believe that if we do good things, then we will be blessed. We want to believe that those who do wrong will be punished. This simple kind of reasoning seems eminently fair to us and we are thrown into confusion when faced with grace and mercy, because God does not seem to work in the same way that maths does!
Throughout the Bible, we see people’s yearnings for this simple kind of living, where my fortunes are determined by my actions, where God blesses the good and punishes the wicked. Job and his friends wrestled with this, for Job was a godly man who faced great suffering. Why? The book spends a lot of time pondering this question (without ever giving us a conclusive one-size-fits-all answer, it must be said), because we so often equate the goodness of God with material prosperity, physical health, and emotional well-being. Asaph faced the same dilemma in Ps 73, when he felt like giving up on faith because it didn’t seem to guarantee short-term happiness or prosperity whilst those who ignored God seemed to flourish. We have to understand that God’s ways are not our ways, and that there is much in life which lacks the clarity of mathematics!
Paul is left languishing in Caesarea because Felix, the governor, cannot bring himself to acquit him, even though it is manifestly obvious he is not guilty of any crime. (Acts 24:1-27) There were no political votes in doing the right thing, and so he basically refused to do what was right. We may well feel outraged at this conclusion, outraged that Paul is prevented from further missionary activity by the cowardice of the man supposedly in charge of justice. Yet we need to realise that God’s agenda will not always coincide with ours. God can work powerfully in our lives when we feel He is furthest away from us; He can be doing great works in us and through us, even when we may feel abandoned and forsaken. The psalmist recognises the value of affliction (Ps 119:67, 71); we must learn to move away from simplistic thinking if we are to grow up in God. ‘Divine confinement’ – perhaps through illness or disappointment – does not necessarily mean divine disfavour. Paul would write to the Philippians of the need for contentment no matter what the situation. (Phil 4:11-13) He learnt the lesson that life is not perhaps as clear-cut as we would like, but he also realised that God was working for his good in it all. (Rom 8:28) When we learn the same thing, we become skilled in living well, whatever our mathematical ability!
