God Is Anything But Passive

Zephaniah 1:7-13
There are many ways to respond to God’s presence in the world, but in our Old Testament reading for today the prophet Zephaniah condemns one in particular. “At that time,” we read, “I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm’" (Zephaniah 1:12). Think what you will about God, but if you assume God is unwilling or unable to act, and if you allow that belief to take root in your life until you become overly confident, you will be judged for your misguided lifestyle. What Zephaniah is addressing is not atheism or even agnosticism. He is speaking to the conviction that God exists but is powerless or unwilling to address human activity. It is the belief in a passive God, and God is anything but passive.

Unfortunately, much of our modern culture is predicated upon the thought that God is inactive, or perhaps even approving of the way we live. I believe this rises from a sort of spiritual blindness that fails––or refuses––to see the hand of God at work in significant ways. What faith knows to be a gift of Providence, complacency takes as a stroke of luck or even the result of one’s own effort. People of faith have a job to do, pointing out the work of God when and where it takes place, teaching the world to recognize divine blessing, opening eyes that are blind to God’s activity, and correcting the world’s complacent vision.

God is active; to assume otherwise is to invite the prophetic condemnation.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see through eyes of faith the work you are doing in our world, and help us to respond with gratitude. In Jesus’ name. Amen.