Never Challenge God's Presence (or Test God's Patience)

In the parable of the vineyard, Jesus depicted so much violence. The owner of the vineyard sent his emissaries in order to ask for the produce of the vineyard from the caretakers. One by one, the emissaries were treated harshly and some were even killed. Finally, the owner sent his beloved son thinking that they would respect him. But the son was also killed. In the end, the owner  vowed that he will render justice to these killers.

Jesus used the parable to remind the leaders of His time about what had been done to those sent by God to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom and the need for repentance. However, we can not help but notice the seeming silence of God during those times when everyone He has sent including His Son were rejected or killed. Why was God not doing anything to address the crimes being committed against His very anointed? Why did He allow the killings to happen? Was He helpless against them? Definitely not. But we can not ignore the fact that the silence was deafening. What happened was just too much to be ignored or allowed. Do we really have an absentee God? 

Even the evils that are happening in the present times are very dangerous, aggressive, massive, prevalent, and arrogant. Gone are the days when those who commit the crimes are afraid of being seen or caught. The criminals are not that afraid anymore. In fact, the victims are more afraid than the perpetrators. Now, it seems that crimes are easier to commit and when caught, easier to free oneself from. People are sometimes helpless against evil. These led many to believe that maybe there is really no God and He is just a pigment of the imagination. For it is true that if He does exist, then, these evil things we experience around us would not have been allowed. Where God is present, evil has no place. Since evil is everywhere, then God must be nowhere!

But we believe otherwise. We just celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, the day when Jesus fulfilled His promise to be with us through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God's guarantee of His presence in the world. So, where is the Spirit? How is God present? But there is a more relevant question than these. More than these information, the key to understanding this seeming absence of God is to know who He is in the face of these situations. He is actually not absent. God deals with man's sin the way He sees effective. once when Jesus was passing through a Samaritan town on the way to Jerusalem, the people rejected them. The apostles, angry at those who disrespected and rejected the Lord, asked the Lord Jesus to send fire to the people. But Jesus did not agree to the proposal of the apostles which was out of impulsive anger. The Lord Jesus was patient. His way is the way of love, forgiveness, and compassion. The best way to win souls is not by punishment or revenge but with love. The best testimony to this was when He was put to death on the cross. He was without sin and He was with all the power to stop His crucifixion. But He did not go against the very will of His Father. Souls will be won through love even if it will entail giving up His life by dying on the cross. 

If we stop and think about it, that is how God with us at all times. Let us make ourselves as examples. With the many sins we have committed, what do we deserve as punishment? What life do we deserve? What fate should we have? Is it not that the truth is that God had been super patient with us? Not that He would not render justice for every sin we have committed. That would come. Maybe here, or in the next life. Maybe now or later. Meantime, God's concern is to win us. Just like in the Parable of the Wheat and The Weeds when the field owner allowed the weeds to grow among the wheat and not to uproot them for the wheat may also be uprooted. The message of the parable was that God wanted to give the sinners (weeds) to change. Salvation is addition. Jesus promised to save everyone. No one will be lost. And so, He will do everything to save everyone.

It will do no good to keep on questioning God's presence. It will be an act of arrogance to test God's patience. Jephtah's story, Judges Chapter 11, should be a strong warning to us never to lose faith in God and never to offer Him anything in exchange for something we want otherwise we may lose even those things that are valuable to us. Facing a seeming defeat from the Ammonites, Jephtah turned to the Lord. In return for victory in battle, he vowed to God that he would sacrifice to God the first thing he saw on his return home. Jephtah won the battle and returned home. As he approached his house, his beloved only daughter ran out to meet him, which meant he had to sacrifice her to fulfill his promise. Jephtah need not bargained with God. God promised to be with him in battle. But he lost faith. He doubted God's presence. Worse, he challenged God. God taught him a lesson. Unfortunately, it cost the life of his daughter.

We have a patient God. We must acquire His patient attitude. Much more, we must exercise that patience to God's patience. Jesus already assured us of His present in the Holy Spirit. What we ought to do is to recognize His presence in the Spirit. "The stone rejected by the builders became the cornerstone." says Scriptures. Evil can never defeat God. Evil is afraid of God. Evil preys on us. If we do not allow evil, it can not do anything against us. If we recognize the presence of the Spirit, the evil spirit has no place in us. God prevailed then, He prevails now, He will prevail till the end and beyond time.