Editorial: Expect the Unexplainable

Photo Credit: 27147, flickr.com.

By: Joe Medearis

How is it that a religion that believes in a savior who performed faith healings and rose from the dead has ceased to believe that there are some things that are unexplainable? This is a question that has been rolling around in my head this week. It does not stem from anything in particular, but is a topic on which God has been challenging me.

We live in an ever expanding galaxy of unfathomable size on a planet that miraculously has all of the elements necessary to sustain life. We are beings that are so complex that it is literally impossible to explain all of things that occur on a normal basis that enable our body to function. Even taking these things into account, we still continue to doubt the power of the Holy Spirit to act in unexplainable ways in our "modern" world. We limit God to the logical and confine our creator with reason. We do this even though we know the consequences of this tendency in the past. Christians "knew" that Earth was flat. Christians "knew" that God chose "one true" Church. Christians "knew" that God preferred one race more than another simply because of the color of their skin. Christians were wrong.

Our limits for God are not always this concrete. It is always easier to name where other people have placed limits on God. It is hard to name the limits that we have placed on God. We do not speak about our limits. We do not often speak about how these limits affect our faith. How often do we read the creation stories without even stopping to contemplate the majesty of God's creation? How often do we read a healing narrative in the Bible and secretly think "yeah right"? Our limits are not God's limits. God is capable of the unexplainable.

Having said that, I am the first to affirm that God works through many people; through doctors, nurses, chaplains, pastors, police officers, firemen, scientists, mechanics, bus drivers, cashiers, and garbage men alike. God does indeed work through events that are reasonable and scientifically explainable. But, God is not limited by our logic and certainly does not have to wait on humans to do work in the world. Certainly, we are called to faithfully do God's work in the world. But, God transcends our abilities and comprehension.

So, what is my point? My point is that God cannot be confined or explained. God is not confined by logic, tradition, institution, science, or even by our understanding of scripture. The Holy Spirit IS in this place. The Holy Spirit is still speaking, moving, and working. We should not confine the work of the Holy Spirit by our ability to explain it any more than we should confine God's grace by our ability to explain it. Our limits for God are manifested in many aspects of our faith. So, how are we going to stop limiting God? Let's think about a few questions. Does God really pick people for ministry based on their sexual orientation? Does God's call to ministry extend only to those who we would identify as men? Is it really impossible for the Holy Spirit to work through prayer or the laying on of hands to bring healing? Can only those things explainable by science be real? Can God only work pastors who have been educated using the 20th century model of a Theological Education? We must boldly remove our limits that we have placed on God.  What can we expect to happen when we do just that and begin to live our faith outside of the confines we place on God? We can expect the unexplainable.