Does God Owe Us an Explanation?

While riding on the autotrain between Virginia and Florida, I picked up a magazine called “The National” which was in our compartment.  In it there was an interview with Robert DeNiro.  When the interviewer asked him if he believed in an afterlife, his response was, “If there is a god, he’s got a lot of explaining to do.”

Wow!  How arrogant and ignorant!

I suppose if there was such a thing as a “god” who was contrived by man’s imagination, and who had powers and an intellect somewhat superior to man, but not infinitely greater, one could expect an explanation for the imponderables of our lives and the universe.

But

If there is an Almighty God (upper case G), who is the creator and sustainer of the universe and everything in it, if He sees every sparrow fall, and numbers the hairs on our heads, He does not owe any human being an explanation.  If He chooses to give us one, He must have to dumb it down greatly.  Both His knowledge and His wisdom are vastly superior to that of the most intelligent person on earth.  The created cannot be greater than the Creator.

My son works in a highly technical field.  Once in a phone conversation, he talked excitedly about a project on which he was working.  I struggled to keep up.  I thought to myself, “I wish I understood this well enough to even ask an intelligent question.”  But my grasp of the topic wasn’t adequate for even that. 

After several minutes, he paused and said, “I’m probably boring you.”

I replied, “You are my son, and I love you, and I am so happy that you enjoy your work, but I wish I understood it better.”

His response?  “Oh, Mom…don’t feel bad.  There are only 3 or 4 other people in the world who understand what I have been talking about.”

Now, I am sure there are more than 3 or 4 who have the necessary intellect to understand it, but apparently only that number who have been sufficiently exposed to the topic to immediately connect and be able to discuss intelligently.  I was definitely not one of them.

God has a mind so vastly superior to ours and exposure to such an infinite variety of information, that even if He were to try to give us answers to our burning questions, we might find ourselves struggling as I did to even get a toe hold on the topic.

Certainly, there are horrible events occurring in the world, and we want to shout, “Why?  How can you let this happen, God?”  But the world is full of people who don’t want to follow God’s plan.  We don’t understand why He allows them to harm innocents.  But, we do not see the big picture.  We do not see into eternity past or future.  I rest in His infinitely superior knowledge and wisdom.  He is the potter.  We are the clay.  The clay doesn’t get to choose what the potter does with it.

When I see God face to face, I will not be shaking my fist at Him and demanding an explanation.  I will be on my knees thanking Him for being merciful and providing a means for my salvation.  Who among us would have thought of sacrificing our only Son to redeem humankind?  That is the unbelievably superior mind and tender heart of God.