As
frail creatures, we are susceptible to many maladies, particularly when we get
older. Alzheimer’s disease, which afflicted my father, is a particularly tough
one. Changes in the brain lead to confusion, forgetfulness, and decreases in
reasoning ability and the ability to concentrate. We observed many changes in
him as he lived with us for about the last four and one-half years of his life.
Sometimes he would hallucinate, as he was doing when he insisted that there was
a man from the gas company outside on the driveway. With his advanced macular
degeneration, he had serious problems seeing, and it appeared that he thought
that a drink we gave him in bed floated over to him. It didn’t occur to him
that this was unreasonable, and he found it entertaining. I don’t know how much
of that was hallucination, how much was inadequate eyesight, and how much was
an inability to reason properly. He was also convinced that Buster (his dog)
conversed with him. Now, if you’re old and you’re hallucinating, imagining that
your dog talks to you isn’t such a bad thing. One day Carla heard some unusual
sounds coming through the door of the kitchenette in Dad’s in-law suite. Dad
was speaking loudly and forcefully to Buster, and she paused to find out what
was going on.
Dad
had an interesting military career. He served in the National Guard from 1935-1938,
then the Army from 1938-1941 in the field artillery, and then in the Army from 1942-1945
in the air force. He had three sets of honorable discharge papers, and that’s
very unusual. During WWII, he was a staff sergeant in the 69th
Service Squadron of the Fifth Air Force (stationed in the South Pacific), and
he was in charge of a crew of 30 men responsible for repairing the aluminum
skins on damaged bombers and fighters. He was used to giving orders and
accustomed to being obeyed. On this particular day in our home, his mind was
back in the South Pacific in the 1940’s: He was barking out orders to Buster. “Soldier,
when I say move, you move!” Carla heard Buster’s nails go
clickety-clickety-click across the hardwood floor as he responded. “When I say
stop, you stop! Now stop!” Buster came to a screeching halt. On and on it went,
and poor Buster never did figure out what was going on. Staff Sergeant Vogt
expected his men—and his dog—to respond immediately.
As
I recently began reading the gospel of Mark, I was struck by the number of
times the word immediately is used. The
Greek word is used 80 times in the New Testament (mostly in the gospels), and
half of those are in Mark. In the King James Version, this word is translated as
either straightway, forthwith, immediately, anon, or as soon as. In the English Standard
Version, all instances are translated as immediately.
For example, after Jesus told Simon (Peter) and Andrew to follow him they “immediately they left their nets and
followed him.” (Mark 1:18 ESV) This surprises me, and it was commendable. After
the daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, had died, Jesus went to her
body, and “taking her by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha cumi,’ which means,
‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ And immediately
the girl got up and began walking, and they were immediately overcome with amazement.” (Mark 5:41-42 ESV) Wow, what
a miraculous surprise! God directed a rapid healing process after I broke my
back in 2011—this was a delightful surprise, and to this day I have few
limitations from it. After struggling for many years with impatience, anger,
and a lack of kindness, I was surprised that He rapidly gave me a substantial
measure of success.
Now,
this is all very well and good, because we like to see good things happen
immediately. Sometimes, though, bad things happen immediately. Consider the
plight of John the Baptist. He correctly pointed out to Herod that it was
illegal for him to have married Herodias, who had been the wife of Herod’s
brother. Herodias took umbrage at this, and she lurked until she had her chance
for revenge. During one of Herod’s birthday bashes, her daughter performed a
dance. Here’s what happened:
For when
Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And
the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to
you.” And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of
my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?”
And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” And she came in immediately with haste to the king and
asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a
platter.” And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his
guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring
John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a
platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. (Mark
6:22-28 ESV)
This
is probably not how most people expected John’s career to end. Couldn’t God
have prevented it? Why didn’t He? If God loves me, then why does He allow me to
suffer? If God is so powerful, then why does life have so many bad surprises in
it? Such questions don’t have simple answers.
What
about my cancer? Let me tell you what, when the doctor on the other end of the
phone line says, “Yeah, you have cancer,” it’s a very bad surprise. Life is
actually pretty short, and I’m not saying that only because I’m in my early 60’s
and have less of it to live. No, I have the advantage of perspective that I
didn’t have 30 years ago: Life really is short, and it was short back then. In
spite of our understanding of time and how it appears to be curved by gravity
and that we can use this knowledge to correct GPS satellite clocks so that we
can get to Aunt Helen’s house on time for the warm apple pie and vanilla ice
cream without getting lost, we still live our lives trapped in time. God isn’t.
Although we are created in His image, we are not the same.
For
a thousand years in your sight,
are
but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
(Psalm 90:4 ESV)
But
do not overlook this one fact, beloved,
that
with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as
one day.
(II Peter 3:8 ESV)
Taken
together with the rest of the Bible, these verses don’t mean that God is
old—they mean that He stands outside of time. He is the master of time,
all-powerful, and the master of the universe. Sometimes there are bad surprises
that we don’t understand, and it’s OK for us to go to God and explain to Him
that we don’t think we have done anything wrong to merit them. But we must
still trust him. I like the way the 19th century Bible teacher John
Darby renders Job’s response in his literal translation of the Bible:
Behold,
if he slay me, yet would I trust in him;
but I will defend mine own
ways before him.
(Job 13:15 Darby)
