Pope Francis waves to faithful during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Pope Francis went to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for some previously scheduled tests, slipping out of the Vatican after his general audience and before the busy start of Holy Week this Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Most of us want to do what we can for our health. Coca-Cola wants to help.
I know those two sentences don’t seem to go together, given the many problems with soda consumption in the US. But there’s a new trend toward prebiotic drinks that are healthier for our digestive systems. Products from Olipop and Poppi are recent examples.
Now Coca-Cola is launching its own prebiotic soda brand called Simply Pop. Consumers on the West Coast and in the Southeast can try it later this month.
Speaking of health, this headline caught my eye: “Air inside your home may be more polluted than outside due to everyday chemical products.” Air fresheners, wax melts, floor cleaners, and deodorants are now known to fill the air with “nanoscale particles that are small enough to get deep into your lungs.” As a result, they could potentially pose risks to respiratory health.
None of us are immune from health challenges, as Pope Francis’s hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia illustrates. But unlike many of us, he is not only focusing on his present health but also on his future legacy.
For example, he has extended the term of the Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals. This means that if Francis dies, Re will play a pivotal role in the conclave that will follow and deliver the pontiff’s funeral rites.
As we provide for the present and prepare for the future, there’s an element that transcends any resources we possess, one that is foundational today and for eternity.
If Joseph had not been enslaved
As described in the book of Genesis, Jacob left his homeland with nothing, fleeing from his brother for his life (Genesis 28). By contrast, his body was returned many years later to be buried “with all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. . . . And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company” (Genesis 50:7, 9).
This does not imply that all was easy and light for Jacob, as even a cursory reading of his life story reminds us. But it does show that God redeems all he allows, often in ways we could not imagine at the time.
Joseph enunciated this fact in a way that has echoed for four millennia when he told the brothers who had enslaved him, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (v. 20). If they had not sold him as a slave to the Midianites who then “took Joseph to Egypt” (Genesis 37:28), and if Joseph had not been unfairly imprisoned there (Genesis 39), imagine the difference in world history:
- He would not have interpreted Pharaoh’s cupbearer’s dream in prison.
- Pharaoh’s cupbearer would not have recommended him to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams.
- He would not have forecast the severe famine to come.
- He would not have been placed in charge of preparations for the famine.
- He would not have been able to provide for his family when they came for food.
If the first “domino” of his brothers’ mistreatment had not fallen, would Jacob’s family have survived the famine to become a great nation and the people through whom the Messiah would come one day?
Frederick Buechner’s walking stick
In one sense, God is Lord whether we make him our Lord or not. Charles III is the king of England whether people in England recognize this fact or reject it. “God is love” (1 John 4:8) is a present-tense fact regardless of our response to it—he loves us whether we love him or not (cf. Romans 5:8).
Frederick Buechner writes that he whittled into his walking stick words he “picked up somewhere in Jung”: vocatus atque non vocatus Deus aderit: “Whether we call on him or do not call on him, God is present with us.”
But in another sense, making Christ our Lord is crucial in that it positions us to experience his providential best in our lives. This is because he honors the freedom he has given us and has therefore chosen to limit the control he could otherwise exert on our lives. Thus, he must knock at the door of our lives to gain admittance (cf. Revelation 3:20) and cannot lead those who will not follow or give what we refuse to receive.
As a result, the key to experiencing our Father’s best is aligning ourselves with his providential purpose in our world.
How can we navigate our turbulent times in his wisdom and will?
As my wife notes in her latest blog, the key is not just to believe God but to believe in God. She points to the book of James, where Abraham is identified as an example: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (James 2:23, citing Genesis 15:6). Janet writes:
Abraham wasn’t found righteous because he knew God’s word; he was found righteous because he obeyed God’s word. All of us who have grown up in church, attended Sunday School and Bible study, and even read Christian blogs and articles like this can sometimes feel confident in the amount of Bible we have learned. According to James and Abraham, the righteous need to find confidence in the amount of God’s word they have obeyed (her emphases).
Trusting God as you trust your bank
How can we experience God’s provident best more fully?
The first step is to do what you know to be his will today.
Jesus asked us, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you” (Luke 6:46).
Oswald Chambers therefore advised us: “We have to take the first step as though there were no God. There is no point in waiting for God to help us—He will not. But once we arise, immediately we find He is there. Whenever God gives us His inspiration, suddenly taking the initiative becomes a moral issue—a matter of obedience.”
What next step of obedience do you know God is calling you to take now?
As we trust him with the present we can see, we also trust him for the future we cannot. Pastor and writer Paul Powell encourages us:
Put your life and your troubles in God’s hands. Trust your life to him as you trust your money to the bank. God, who created all things, will take care of you. How often we look on God as our last and most feeble resource! We go to him because we have nowhere else to go. And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven.
A wise mentor once advised me,
“Stay faithful to the last word you heard from God and open to the next.”
Will you do both today?
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