New Page 0

The Magnificent Mundane

Chapter Three - The Theological

By John Boda

This chapter of the miraculous mundane could have been entitled "Einstein Was Wrong." THAT would have been a controversial eye catcher! Einstein's theories are considered the ultimate, untouchable and nearly divine in the realm of science. For anyone to boldly state that Einstein was wrong is almost unthinkable. But I stand by my statement, he was very wrong! He was not wrong in physics or science....he was wrong in theology.

I look to Einstein for great insights into physics, the nature of light and gravity, but I definitely look elsewhere on any matters of theology. Although he never claimed to be any sort of expert on theology or the Bible, he has many well-publicized quotes and statements. People look to Einstein for insight into many areas outside his specialty because of his incredible mind. It is clear from most of his remarks about God and theology that he totally rejected any concept of a personal, loving God who is at work and involved in the universe and our lives.

Science writer Dan Falk elaborates on Einstein’s attitude toward God from his book, Universe on a Tee Shirt, " Though Einstein frequently referred to God in his writings, he had no room for a God who intervenes in human affairs. What Einstein did not believe in was a personal God or a deity who concerns himself with the fate and actions of human beings."

If you've been with me from the beginning of this study, I hope you are beginning to grasp the concept that it is because of a loving and very personal God that our mostly mundane lives can become magnificent! But we have to step back a bit and try to see more of the big picture and grand scope of things, and realize another world of magnificence just outside our world.

Award-winning writer Philip Yancey recently wrote a book called, Rumors of Another World, in which he highlights the importance of looking for this other world of magnificence. He emphasizes the importance of making our daily lives " sacramental" which literally means to keep both the sacred (sacra) and the mind (mental). In other words, a mindfulness….a mind- full- of God's presence in the world. He also suggested that we view the natural world as simply a foreshadowing the supernatural world, which is also very good theology!

I believe that God, as portrayed in scripture, is not some abstract cosmic impersonal force, but rather a very personal, loving, and involved creator and sustainer of everything! In speaking about the Old Testament Priests who served at the Temple, Paul says; “They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven”( Hebrews 8:5) Our life is very much a shadow of something much deeper and lasting yet to come, with a God who is very involved in guiding us there as we let him.

In this chapter, I want to go further into God’s personal involvement, not just into creation and history, but into our day-to-day mundane lives.

God's involvement into human affairs could be looked at as an invasion. At the time of this writing, we have almost daily reminders of war strategies concerning America’s involvement in liberating Iraq. Sometimes, when invasions are implemented, they are very secret, others are more obvious (even announced), and others are full scale frontal attacks with media coverage.

I have spent years thinking and searching the Bible in regards to God's invasion tactics toward our world and lives. I began to see some patterns of how God "invades" our world, specifically, it all started coming together several years ago when I was studying and teaching from the book of Ruth. In fact, that time period of study and illumination into that incredible book of the Bible became the flashpoint that started this whole new study of the magnificent mundane, and also was one of the many arrows of grace that pierced me, and pushed me into a much larger world of a grace awakening.

I have a word of caution to you before reading further. Up to this point I have tried to avoid both "churchy" and deeper theological terms and ideas. I did this to make my points easy to grasp. However this chapter is the most theological, and requires some deep thinking into scripture. Please stay with me as this chapter is really the top of the pyramid, the very center of my whole thesis, and is very important in the flow of the entire study.

How God Invades the Mundane

" What I want to talk about now is the various was God's spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable."

I Corinthians 12 The Message Bible

If you've never read the book of Ruth before, I suggest you take a little time and do so now. It is a short book and can be read quickly.

The focus of the story is on a young girl named Ruth, and the process of her being "redeemed", or accepted into the family by her kinsman-redeemer relative named Boaz. There have been many teachings concerning the symbolic connection between Ruth and ourselves. Ruth was a Gentile (non-Jewish) girl and she is bought with a price by Boaz , who is Jewish. This is a clear symbol of the relationship between Jesus and ourselves, and a picture of how Jesus , redeemed us by his death and resurrection. Volumes have been taught, preached and written on these truths, but this is not what I want to focus on here.

The Fields of Boaz

" I took a long look and pondered what I saw, the fields preached a sermon and I listened"

Proverbs 24:32 The Message Bible

As I studied the book of Ruth, there was a truth there that surfaced and struck me, something that clearly revealed God's invasion into our world, but was often overlooked. I want to look at the place where the events occur in the book of Ruth - the fields of Boaz.

The fields of Boaz are still there, but today they are called "Shepherd's Fields," named after the first shepherds who were startled by the Angels on that first Christmas morning. Both events happened in the same fields, but I‘ll write more on the Christmas connection coming later!

I have personally walked through these fields just outside of Bethlehem, which consist of rolling hills full of rocks and olive trees.

Throughout the entire Bible there are only three events mentioned that deal directly with these fields.

Here they are in a nutshell:

1. The story of Ruth

2. The events of young David as a shepherd boy ( killing a lion and a bear and first learning to commune with God.)

3. Jesus’ birth announced to the shepherds that first Christmas morning.

After identifying that these three significant events all took place in the same fields, I began to prayerfully consider if I could glean any spiritual truths from that fact. I purposely speak of "gleaning" because that was the exact verb used in the book of Ruth, when she was allowed to glean leftover grain from Boaz's men working the harvest.

Whenever we find any connection in the pages of scripture, of any kind, it almost always has some deeper meaning.

Each event in the fields of Boaz DOES have a spiritual connection! To simplify the spiritual meanings, and help you remember, I have summarized three ways God interacted with the Biblical characters for each event that occurred in these fields.

1. Providence (Ruth)

2. Preparation (David)

3. Proclamation (Shepherds)

First of all, the story of Ruth is connected with providence. Throughout the book of Ruth we see literally a dazzling display of the providence of God! God works behind the scenes in guiding Ruth back to Bethlehem, then specifically, to Boaz, even when there was another relative more closely related. It was God who masterfully brought Ruth and Boaz together, while never going beyond human free will. It is the beautiful meshing of divine maneuvering and human free will, something that only God can do!

Secondly, young David the shepherd boy is connected to the word and concept of preparation. Young David grew up in Bethlehem and was a shepherd boy tending sheep. It does not specifically say he was in these fields, but they surround Bethlehem! He certainly was not shepherding flocks on the streets of the city! His life at that time was very much involved with something much larger than sheep. David grew as a warrior in fighting skills when he killed both a bear and a lion who were a threat to his sheep. (David spoke of this just before he fought and killed Goliath, and spoke of it while preparing him to take on the evil giant.) No doubt also he spent many nights by himself with the sheep and learned to pray and depend on God -- more preparation for his future as King of Israel.

Lastly, proclamation is not a stretch at all in view of what occurred that first Christmas morning! The Angels proclaimed the message of great joy that the messiah and literal Son of God had finally been born on earth! This divine proclamation had a domino effect, in that the shepherds immediately left and began to proclaim the same message.

OK, so good so far right? What does all this have to do with God's invasion into our mundane world? In order to see this to its practical end must go even further into these events and principles.

Just as each field of Boaz event has three principles, each principle also has a method by which God invades our world. While I never want to try to limit God in saying that he must work in certain way or method, these methods are clear principles seen throughout scripture. God has chosen to use these methods concerning his invading our world and lives, both in Biblical times and in our lives today.

Again, I have summarized each method.

1. Inconspicuous Covert Actions

2. Intentional Divine Maneuverings

3. Instantaneous Glorious Presence

These three methods are what I believe, to be the primary methods by which God has chosen to invade our world and interact with us. Why did God use these methods? I haven't the slightest idea! But I believe I am on solid scriptural ground when I list these three methods.

1. Inconspicuous Covert Actions

“You’re off base on two counts, you don't know your Bibles and you don't know how God works."

(Jesus) Matthew 22 The Message Bible

"The greater part of God's work in the world may go unnoticed.”

Henri Nouwen

“Clearly you are a God who works behind the scenes."

Isaiah 45:15 The Message Bible

"...we know God is working behind the scenes"

( Elihu to Job) Job 34:20 The Message Bible

This first method by which God invades our world is by far the most common, but it is also the most overlooked and hard to perceive!

The best place to see God‘s methods, I believe, is in the book of Ruth where God's behind - the - scenes providence is the main story throughout the short book. Also we will look closely at our focus point for this thesis, the fields of Boaz.

The first three words of Genesis “In the beginning…”. really set the stage and have great meaning for the rest of the first book of the Bible. Likewise, the first four words of Ruth, " Now it came to pass....." also set the stage and have great meaning.

HOW did it come to pass? Did it just happen by luck, chance or good fortune? If not, then WHAT or WHO caused it to come to pass and happen? Asking these questions always help when reading or studying scripture. Sometimes you can find the answers, sometimes you can't, but it is in the prayerful search and study that we learn!

Here in this text, the answer is really not that hard to find, and I think if you've been with me up to this point you already know where I'm going! Yes, it was God! He was the one who brought this story to come to pass, and every other story that has ever occurred, including yours and mine right now!

The clear teaching of the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments, is that God is involved in our world! He did not create it and then wind it up like a clock to just run by itself, then wander off to some other dimension. He is here, right now, and at work all around us! This really is the entire reason for any magnificence in our mundane world. If God was not involved, if he even did not exist as the atheist assumes, then what magnificence is there? There is only mundane meaninglessness!

Usually most of us don't see big miracles like water turning to wine, burning bushes, or people flying to heaven in chariots. These things did happen, and I know and believe that these types of miraculous events do occur today, it's just that the inconspicuous covert actions best describe the common way God has chosen to interact and invade our world, both in history and today.

In the book of Ruth, there are no miracles like what happened in Moses and Elijah's day. But it is clear that it is God who is the one who is moving behind the scenes and the prime director of a magnificent human drama.

In Ruth's story, Naomi "just happened" to lose her husband and two sons, she "just happened" to have a very determined daughter in law (Ruth) who "just happened" to strongly desire to follow Ruth back to Bethlehem. Then, when they arrive, Ruth "just happened" to go into a particular field that "just happened" to be owned by Boaz, who "just happened" to be her Godly close relative and also "just happened" to decide to go by that field for a visit while Ruth was gathering left over grain. Boaz "just happened" to take notice of her and wants to marry her. But before he could, he had to step aside for a closer relative to be allowed first choice, who also "just happens" to decline and let Boaz go ahead. Boaz marries Ruth, (God's plan all along) and she conceives a son, Obed, who "just happened" to be the grandfather of one of the most important characters of the Bible, and future King of Israel - David! (The scriptural account even uses this term "happened" a few times in most translations, see Ruth 2:3 and Ruth 3:8)

But the story doesn't stop there, because David, and of course, Obed, Ruth and Boaz all become very important links in the human chain of the birth of Jesus, the King of Kings! Could God have done it some other way? Of course, I believe that his options are limitless! But he chooses to do it this way!

What about you and me today? We are all on a journey, and I hope you have come into a relationship with God through Jesus. If you have not, God is still at work in your life, beckoning you to him. It is a sad fact that some people never perceive his longing for relationship and love for them. God is constantly at work from beginning to end and everywhere in between! It is what theologians call "providence." This is what I want to touch on next, it's exciting and very reassuring to know a little of God's providence, which is a message that seldom heard in our post-modern age.

Providence

“My task is to bring out in the open, and make plain, what God has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along.”

Paul - Ephesians Three. The Message Bible

“God presses in upon us from all sides, God seemingly will not leave us alone. The Bible gives witness to a God who enters into the world and participates in our history. Nothing happens to us apart from God.

Ben Campbell Johnson

“Living Before God"

“God wants to be known, but not in a way that overwhelms us, that takes away the possibility of love freely chosen. You never know where he'll turn up, or whom he'll speak through, or what unlikely scenario he'll use for his purpose. God is often present but often shows up in unexpected ways. He travels incognito; he is the master of disguise.”

John Ortberg from his book God is Closer Than You Think

Theologian R. C. Sproul wrote an excellent book on the providence of God called, The Invisible Hand. Sproul breaks down the word "providence" in Latin. The word comes from two Latin words, the first word, “pro,” meaning, "Before or in front of". The other word is “videre,” meaning, "to see". When we put them together, we see that the most basic meaning of the word "providence" is simply, "to see beforehand." But as R.C. Sproul explains, as in most Latin and Greek words, the meaning can be varied and much deeper requiring a closer look. The basic meaning of "providence" is much more than just to see before hand, or what we call "foreknowledge." God's providence, as seen throughout scripture, also carries the meaning of his care, involvement and personal attention towards people.

Through providence, God is working behind the scenes in human affairs to accomplish his will. Once again, the true Biblical picture of God is one who is involved and interacts in our world. God is not a creator who sets all in motion and then leaves us to find our way alone. This false view is actually common in our society today, but it is not a new idea, it has been around for a long time under the name of "deism". A deist is one who believes in a deity (God), who creates everything, but then they go no further. They don’t have a true Biblical picture of a God who is personal, loving, and involved.

The Fields of Boaz

So far I have shown that the first event displayed in these fields’ shows God's providence. Then through God's providence, he reveals to us a method by which he invades and interacts in our world, the method called, Inconspicuous Covert Actions.

First an event, then a method, all seen in the same general place, the fields of Boaz. I believe that God continues today, right now, with the same method, inconspicuously, and in a covert, secret way, works behind the scenes in our lives. He never goes beyond our free will, but leads us, and guides us to himself.

The mystery of free will comes up in this discussion, and it is really a huge mystery! I believe that God perfectly works in concert with our free will without violating any of it. How he does that, of course is the big mystery. Someone once said, "God never goes beyond our free will....but he has a million ways to make us more willing." I believe that to be an accurate and deep thought, and one that requires some time to ponder!

Application

Once we grasp even a glimpse of this beautiful truth of God moving and working behind the scenes, it will revolutionize our lives! Suddenly the mundane really does also become the magnificent!

Think for a moment about the story I have discussed in Ruth. Even read it once more, and then look at each character in the story. Do you think that any one of them lived a wild, crazy life of excitement, adventure, thrills, extravagance, fun and games? I don't want to read into it anything that it wasn't, and I'm sure there were joyous times with family and friends, but by and large these people lived very mundane and average lives! Bethlehem today is a small and rather dull little town, and was even more so three thousand years ago! Back then, most people spent their days just trying to survive, find food, and stay warm at night.

The point that I am making is that God's inconspicuous covert actions flowing out of his providence, works perfectly within a dull, mundane, average world that is filled with average and normal people who are simply living their lives in eating, sleeping and going to work. Sound like anybody you know?

Next I will explore the second event (David’s preparations) and method (intentional divine maneuverings) that is once again seen in these amazing fields.

“Now I'm alert to God's ways, I don't take God for granted. Everyday I review the way he works, I try not to miss a trick."

Psalms 18:22

The Message Bible

“God rules - not only in personal affairs, but in the cosmos. Not only in our times and places of worship, but in office buildings, political affairs, factories, universities, hospitals, yes, even behind the scenes in saloons and rock concerts. It's a wild and extravagant notion to be sure, but nothing in our scriptures is attested to more frequently or emphatically."

Eugene Peterson

Introduction to First and Second Kings in the Message Bible.

“To hear God in the day requires us to break out of old habits and well rehearsed rituals that are automatic. We must begin to see with new eyes and listen with new ears and imagine our lives differently. This sharpened attention provides the context for our continuous awakening to new dimensions of life and faith in God.”

Ben Campbell Johnson

Living Before God

2. Intentional Divine Maneuverings

The Preparation of God

This second method by which God invades the mundane is also behind the scenes and can be difficult to discover. While it is a much more direct invasion, it is also much rarer and occurs less frequently, but it has happened at least once to every Christ follower who started their journey by an intentional divine touch from God! Also once again, the fields of Boaz glean not only grain for the hungry, but deep insight for those who seek it.

Young David

The next time that an event occurs in those fields, and is recorded in scripture, is the story of the anointing of young David, the shepherd boy, found in First Samuel 16. I strongly suggest that you stop and take a few minutes to read that story now.

God removed his spirit from the rebellious King Saul and choose another, David, to be King. At first, no one knew the future king was going to be David, not even Samuel the prophet. God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and there he would reveal his choice of king. (Unlike Ruth's story, God is working here in a more direct way.) Samuel obeys and goes to Bethlehem, but has very limited information. He is not directing this event! Jesse, David's father knows even less, and David is the one most out of the loop spending all his days and nights in the middle of dark and lonely fields with smelly sheep!

My point is that God is the prime mover and director, sometimes, as in the first method, completely covert and hidden behind the scenes, other times, like here, more active, involved and up front.

"There was a moment, some years ago, when I realized with considerable astonishment, that there isn't a single miracle in the David story, not one!

But there's never any question that God is at the center of the plot and always present, although usually silent and hidden in the details.

Eugene Peterson

Leap Over a Wall

Right now I can already anticipate your question coming, “But where do the fields of Boaz fit in here?" They are not mentioned in the text, not even the word "field" is written.

The answer requires a bit of old fashioned common sense, logic and a little understanding of geography.

Here's what we know:

David lived with his family in Bethlehem. David's job was being a shepherd tending sheep.

The equation is simple, like in math, if you know two factors you can easily find the third factor and answer. Here, the two factors are,

1. Bethlehem

2. Shepherding

The unknown factor is where? What place? Having been to Bethlehem, it is really silly to think it could be anywhere else than the fields of Boaz, now called by another name, "Shepherd's Fields!" Bethlehem is a tiny town on a hill with these fields mostly surrounding it. They have been the place for sheep and shepherds for thousands of years, even many years before David. (Also remember that Ruth's story with Boaz occurred here, and they are David's grandparents!) So I believe that placing young David there is accurate and Biblically sound, and even though it is of little meaning to most, it is of great importance to this study!

Application

The story of Ruth also showed us God's first method of invasion - inconspicuous covert actions.

The second event of David anointing (and also the years before of time there) also showed us God's second method of invasion - intentional divine maneuvering.

It is here in David's story that we see again, the mundane, average, and ordinary lives of people being interrupted and invaded by God. But this time God moves in a more direct, but less common way to accomplish his will.

The first event and method involved - providence.

This second event and method involves - preparation.

Sometimes God first calls us by his covert-behind the scenes workings through his providence. But then, as we learn to walk and grow with him, he then leads us by intentional divine maneuverings and begins to prepare us for things to come, both in this life and the one to come!

Young David's story is all about preparation. Here in those fields he learned to first hear and follow God's voice. He grew strong and mastered his skills both as a warrior in killing a lion and bear. ( And possibly as a musician, assuming he played his harp while tending sheep!)

If you are a Christ follower, God first called you through his providence, and now, along with that providence, is preparing you to become the man or woman that he intended for you to become.

As we will see next, the more directly God invades our world, the rarer it is! The next event also occurred in those fields and is one of the fullest scales, in your face, direct- God invasions ever!

3. Instantaneous Glorious Presence

- Proclamation & Praise

“If Christians are not relevant in the mundane, how are they going to be relevant in the profound?"

Erwin McManus

“There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody worldwide. A savior has been born in David's town, a savior who is Messiah and master. This is what you're to look for, a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger. At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises. ’ Glory to God in the heavenly heights, peace to all men and women on earth who please him.’ "

- The first Christmas announcement from Luke Two. The Message Bible

Introduction

For this last event and method of God's invasion into the mundane, most of us are familiar with its story, especially at Christmas time every year.

Once again, the characters are simply in the midst of doing their mundane day-to-day average lives, but then they are interrupted by a divine encounter.

But this time, it isn't anything like the other two methods of inconspicuous covert actions or intentional divine maneuvering. This time it is much more of a direct and fully seen invasion- what I call, God‘s Instantaneous Glorious Presence.

The Shepherds

There were shepherds out in the fields tending their sheep on that first Christmas morning long ago. As quoted in the verses above, you can see that they were startled and amazed by God's visitation to them in the form of Angels, but beyond that, it says that, “they were terrified". In an instant, the dark, lonely fields (the fields of Boaz) became filled with the glory of God shining brightly all around them! We know from other Bible passages that God literally is light, God himself doesn't just have light, but he IS light. In the New Jerusalem a the end of Revelation we also see that there is no need even for our physical sun anymore because God himself will be our light.( Also after Moses departed from God's presence, his face shown brightly with light). We can easily conclude that anyone. Angel or human, who encounters God's presence, (if they live), can end up with an after glow of God's light on themselves. Moses even had to put a veil over his face because he glowed so much from God's glory that the other people couldn't bear it!

My point is that this divine encounter was not just an Angelic one, but it was God visiting them through his Angels there in those fields. It really WAS a personal and literal "God invasion" that occurred as well, and was the content of the Angel's message, as God himself had taken on human form and was born in Bethlehem just outside of those fields!

“The word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood."

John Chapter One- The Message Bible

I have personally experienced the first two invasion methods, but have not even come close to experiencing this third one! It is a good bet that you probably have not either, if you have; you are one of the very few who have, and also have lived to tell about it!

Although this third method of God's invasion is very rare, it not only has happened in the past, but I believe that it still occurs today to certain people whom God chooses out of his sovereignty.

Isaiah

One such divine encounter occurred to the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. You can read about the event in Isaiah Chapter Six. He encounters the very presence of God and once again is terrified! So much so, that he even pronounces a "woe" upon himself and states that his molecular structure of his body is nearly about to explode and fall apart! (Fortunately for most of us, we experience a long and gradual encounter of God and his presence, which is a life long journey. If any of us had an accelerated version like Isaiah, we would probably suffer the same devastating results!)

Application

So we have seen three specific events which occurred in the Fields of Boaz, or Shepherd's Fields. Each event showed us something of God in his character and method by which he invades our mundane world. Here it is once again in summary:

Field Events and Methods

1. Inconspicuous Covert Actions - as seen through God's Providence working through Ruth.

2. Intentional Divine Maneuverings - as seen through God's work of Preparation in young David's anointing and previous work as a shepherd boy in the fields.

3. Instantaneous Glorious Presence - as seen by God's Angel's Praise and Proclamation unto the shepherds in the fields on the first Christmas morning.

We have seen how God first chooses us in his providence, with no help from us! Then he begins his work of preparing us for greater things both in this life and the life to come. But how does the last event and method cross over into our lives in a practical way?

We see that the result of this method, praise and proclamation, is really the end result of them all the other methods in the big and panoramic picture. Although very few, if any, of us have been aware of an instantaneous divine presence encounter, it really does occur all the time in all of our lives! Only, fortunately for all of us, it is masked and hidden! Yes God invades our mundane world in a behind the scenes way in the first two methods, but also in a disguised way in the third method. This really is another description of the magnificent mundane; Namely that God is here, he is there, he is everywhere all around us and continues to reveal himself as he chooses into our mundane world.

This is not, in any way, meant to diminish the God-breathed scriptures! They also reveal God in a more precise and black and white way in words, which we should never neglect!

But God also invades and reveals himself through his creation. Jesus told us to "consider the lilies of the fields" (Matthew 6:28) and a few verses before that, "look at the birds"(Matthew 6:26) Plus when we read; "The heavens are declaring the glory of God." (Ps. 19:1), and ignore the signs of God in the created world, we really limit ourselves and our understanding of God and his ways.

Finally, one last word in this section on the result of this method, praise and proclamation.

Although I sincerely believe God wants me to share with others his grace in my life, I don't subscribe to the common belief that to be a witness always means to preach or verbalize my faith. That kind of witnessing can be praise and proclamation, but the true Biblical reality of the meaning of “witness”, is not a verb!. You would be hard pressed to find examples of witnessing as a verb in scripture. Yes, there are occasions, but as a rule, the word "witness" is written as a noun.

All this to say that we as Christ followers should not be identified so much by what we do or speak, but by what God has done for us! Yes, we are to serve, yes we are to labor and pray and study, but the real witness of our lives which result in praise and proclamation to both God and man are when we "walk the talk" and live out our faith whether it involves speaking about it or not!

On Miracles

At this point I'd like to briefly discuss a certain "pet peeve" of mine that seems to happen often and has become a rather humorous irritation.

This chapter is entitled "The Miraculous Mundane", and is so named because of the clearly seen miracle of God's invasion into the mundane in both to the shepherds, and in the manger than first Christmas morning. Now that was truly a miracle! The other two methods, while divinely initiated and controlled, can really not be labeled as a “miracle". When I speak of a miracle or a miraculous invasion, I speak of a clearly seen God encounter which cannot be defined any other way! In the other first two methods, and also in the third when God hides and does it covertly, no physical laws are broken in our very physical world. But when a true miracle occurs, God comes into our world and physical laws are over ruled!

My "pet peeve" is when people, and many do it, say, "Oh it was a miracle", when speaking of any number of events in their lives. Events such as getting a raise at work, or someone calling at just the right time. While these events can be God-directed in the first two methods (and sometimes are), we cannot reduce the value and importance of a true God miracle by labeling anything that happens good or out of the ordinary as one!

For example, one day several years ago, I returned home to discover one of our cats had accidentally lit his back fur on fire by a nearby candle. I had opened the door at that precise moment so that the cat didn't even know or feel the fire yet, and I quickly put it out (I literally put the cat out!). If I had come home a few minutes later, he could have run around the house in pain and fear and set the entire house on fire in the process! My arrival was timed (unknown to me) to the precise second to avert the potential disaster! My first reaction was to declare, “That was a miracle!"! But was it? I believe to this day that it was God who timed my arrival to the precise second on that day. But no physical laws were over turned, there really was no clear "miracle", but rather God working behind the scenes in his providence and led me home at the right moment. I am convinced that God protected our house (and cat) that day! But it was not a miracle in the true sense of the word. Now if I had arrived home that day to find an Angel, or Jesus himself holding our cat smiling saying," Don't worry, the fire is out and everything's OK." THAT would clearly be defined as a miracle!

Once again, I do believe and know that such clear miraculous events happen today! I have not been witness to one, but I have heard from some people who have and I don't doubt some of their stories. But I do believe and know that this kind of God invasion is rare today. A very good book written about this subject is called, Disappointment With God by Philip Yancey. It really is a must-read if you've ever struggled with these thoughts and questions and his take on it is simply brilliant.

It's a Wonderful Life

“God’s great love and purposes for us are worked out in the messes, storms and sins, blue skies, daily work and dreams of our common lives, working with us as we are and not as we should be."

Eugene Peterson

Introduction to the book of Joshua in The Message Bible

“Every movement we make in response to God has a ripple effect, touching family, friends and community. "

Eugene Peterson

Introduction to the book of Philemon in The Message Bible

If there was ever a movie that portrayed a character within the magnificent mundane concept, "It's a Wonderful Life" is it! The central figure is George Bailey, played perfectly by Jimmy Stewart. At first he seems completely unaware of how magnificent his life, talents, friends and family are in his little small town of Bedford Falls. But after going deep in debt with no seemingly way out, and with some help from his personal guardian Angel, he gets the incredible gift of seeing how the world would have turned out if he was never born. He sees a vastly different world, one in which people were dead who were once alive, some now in prison, insane institutions, and his entire sweet little town is now called Pottersville and has become the den of all sorts of evil! He has no name, no family, no home, he is a complete nobody. Yet he remembers and begins to connect the enormous influence that his single, insignificant life had on thousands of people!

It is at that time he finally realizes how precious all of life is, his wife and kids, his little town and all of the common people there, he even is glad that he might end up in jail, he doesn't care because all his problems pale in comparison to the precious new knowledge of the importance of each life and of family and friends. He comes to the conclusion that it really is a wonderful life after all!

What about your life, and mine?

What if you or I were suddenly transported into a world into which we also could see how things would have developed without any help, or hindrance from us?

How would that world be different? You probably are thinking just what I tend to do, that our little lives don't make much difference. We are not influential movie stars, or anyone famous. But just like George Bailey discovered, I believe that every single action (and inaction) has astronomical and incredible consequences to ourselves and everyone we have interaction with. Consequences that only God can compute or fathom! We are all connected with each other, no man or woman is an island. I am convinced that every single person is an important, unique individual created in the image of God. Each person has tremendous value, significance, and has an uncountable amount of influences with other people, society, creation, and life itself! It really is a wonderful life for every one of us too, only sadly, most of us don't realize it.

How would you feel if you were the one person among millions, to win the big lottery? You would be considered extremely lucky! Maybe considered extra special and blessed to beat the enormous odds stacked against you! Well, the truth is that we all did just that! Everyone one of us who are alive this moment (and everyone who ever lived), all have beat even more incredible odds stacked against us to be born. Just before conception, in order to become united with one of your mother's eggs, you (one of 200 million of your father’s sperm) had to race and beat out about 199 million others, who each have the same strong desire and will to find that egg, and enter into conception! We are all, even more than “one in a million", we are one in many millions!

Because we are all made in God's image, and each of us are extremely special and unique, I believe that the invisible hand of God invades our mundane world far more than any of us can even realize.

“Because God is invisible to us, we often fail to recognize his active presence in human affairs. Because we cannot peer into the transcendent realm, many things appear to happen by chance, or as mere contingencies"

Adam Smith

Providence

One of the most thought- provoking books ever written about providence, literally, God invading our world and working his will, is The Invisible Hand by R. C. Sproul. I have it set out on my bookshelf so I can go to it often, which I do, and have read it more than once. Almost every chapter is entitled with the word “providence" in its title! He also makes a great point in saying that the word "providence", which was once very common in our culture and country, has nearly disappeared from our vocabulary. It has become out dated and "old school" to think, speak and write in terms of a personal creator who interacts in our world through providence. But if we throw out this spiritual reality and concept, we also must disregard much of the scriptures because the principle and concept of it is clearly a major theme in them.

Personally, I believe that one of the prevailing reasons why the idea of providence, and God directing events, has fallen so out of view is due to the advancement of science, specifically, quantum mechanics within physics. This is the branch of science which deals in the micro-universe, the tiniest of the tiny, which I spoke of in chapter one. Quantum mechanics, because of its dealing within the super small atomic world, has discovered that these tiny particles cannot be tracked and measured in the usual way of mathematical predictions. Rather they can only "guess" with probability and chance how they will behave. Some people, including many physicists, have taken this to the extreme and extend it out to how the entire universe operates, and even how things work, with or without a creator's hand or influence. But others, (me included) believe that to carry over this probability to our world of how the creator operates is, well, a huge quantum leap! Even Einstein had great difficulty with this concept and spoke of it once in saying, “God doesn't play dice with the universe.”

As R.C. Sproul points out in his previously -mentioned book, the word "providence" is derived from the Latin prefix root literally meaning, “to see beforehand," but basically the idea is that providence, in the Biblical sense of the word, means much more than just foreknowledge. It also involves care, guidance, protection and more. God doesn't just see things beforehand and then just sit there and watch it like we do when we watch a movie. No, he is directly involved! Once again, that is the thesis of this entire writing and study, namely that God governs and the entire universe from the micro to the macro, and everything in between, including you and me! Furthermore, he not only governs, but is actively involved using the three basic methods I propose here, as well as probably millions of other ways that we will never find out this side of heaven.

What if?

Have you ever wondered what would have happened, how things would have developed, if you would have done something different in your life? If you had the ability to go back in time, imagine if you changed one small mundane event, how would that play out in your life, your family and friends, the entire world?

Once again, George Bailey comes to mind in “It’s a Wonderful Life". His entire world changed drastically when his Angel arranged it so that he never was born! His one solitary, seemingly mundane life touched and affected many others. I suspect it really is the same for you and me!

In Ray Bradbury's short story called A Sound of Thunder, a time traveler goes back in time to hunt and kill specially marked dinosaurs that would die or be killed minutes later anyway so as to not disrupt the flow of future events.

He is given special instructions to only walk on a specially prepared path. Every precaution is taken because the characters in the story all realize that there are enormous consequences that potentially await anyone, and their present time line, if they change anything in the past. Unfortunately, one unlucky fellow gets off the path and steps on a little butterfly and kills it. This one tiny mistake causes huge ramifications and changes when he returns back to his present time!

What if......a certain young man was not thrown in jail for carelessly shooting off a gun during a new year’s party in New Orleans over a hundred years ago? No big deal right? But it was while in jail that this certain nobody met another man who played the trumpet and began showing him how to play it. Again no big deal, unless you know that this certain young man was Louis Armstrong who became the "father of jazz" and revolutionized music in America and the world and continues to influence many people, musicians, and culture today!

What if….a certain father ignored his young son's questions and interest in how things work? Ignoring them to the point that he never encourages his son or aids in the development of his young curious mind, no big deal right? Thus same father decided to buy his young son a little compass which further amazed and caused his interest to grow much further. Again, no big deal, until you realize that this father was Hermann Einstein and the young curious boy was Albert Einstein who later in life recalled that this one small event was the spark that stated him on his great quest and journey to discover the workings of the universe!

What if…a young British teenager decided against getting on his bike one hot summers day in 1957 and going to meet a friend at a church picnic? No big deal, until you realize that this young teen was Paul McCartney who just happened to have his school buddy introduce him to another teen who was playing in a band at a local church fair, his name was John Lennon.

All of us can relate many occasions where seemingly small and mundane actions in our lives resulted in huge ramifications later! You don't have to be famous like the examples that I just gave, it happens to all of us, I only used those examples to illustrate more of the great contrast between the seemingly trivial events and huge consequences.

R. C. Sproul also brings up the "What if?" question in The Invisible Hand and focuses on the Biblical story of young Moses and Pharaoh's daughter who found him on a small ark in the river, probably crying, and changed history!

“It was not a surprise that Pharaoh's daughter went to the riverside on a fateful day in human history. It is no surprise that the baby cried. He (God) ordained that the baby cry and he ordained that it cry at the precise moment it cried, God did not leave all this to chance. We play the "what if's" and speculate on the coarse of history had the baby not cried. We could surmise that if the baby had not cried, there would have been no Moses. Had there been no Moses, there would have been no incident at the burning bush. No burning bush - no exodus. No exodus - no giving of the law at Sinai. No law - no Prophets. No Prophets - no Jesus. No Jesus - no cross. No cross - no redemption. No redemption - no Christianity. No Christianity - no western civilization as we know it! All of this if a baby in a homemade ark had failed to cry at the precise moment! But there is no "what if's" in God, he is a God whose providence is in the details."

R.C. Sproul

The Invisible Hand

Yes, I believe that God could have done it some other way, but he didn't. But we can be sure that God would not have done it any other way as the way he chooses is perfect and always right! Now that is a concept that is very hard to grasp!

It is easy to play the "what if" game and focus on major historical events because we can easily then imagine how things would be different if some event within that chain were altered. But we also must understand that this same "what if" scenario can be imagined also within the context of all of our personal, mundane lives right here and now. The God of the Bible is revealed as a personal, loving, involved God who is concerned about every aspect of our lives from the tiny to the huge. It really is my goal in these discussions to drive home that reality, both in you and me!

The next time you wonder if God answers prayer or even cares about us, consider the words of Job's fourth friend. (The only one who wasn't rebuked by God):

“God always answers one way or the other, even when people don't recognize his presence. In a dream for instance, a vision at night when men and women are deep in sleep, fast sleep in their beds, God opens their ears and impresses them with warnings to turn them back from something bad they're planning. Or God might get their attention through pain by throwing them on a bed of suffering. This is the way God works over and over again. He pulls back our souls from certain destruction, so we'll see the light and live in the light!”

Elihu, speaking to Job in Job chapter 33. The Message Bible

Personal Encounter in Fields of Boaz

In this chapter I have attempted to reveal some particular events and methods by how God works as displayed within the fields of Boaz. For me, personally, these fields go even deeper than revealing great truths of spiritual reality! Once again, this verse has a lot of meaning to me:

“I took a long look and pondered what I saw - the fields preached a sermon and I listened."

Proverbs 24:32 The Message Bible

In October of 1984, I had the great privilege of making a pilgrimage journey to Israel. I was very fortunate in that I went with a small group of five people and visited and explored many off-the-beaten places all over Israel! I spent nearly the entire month there, part exploring, and part working for our leader, and my mentor, who had visited there dozens of times before and was writing a new book on Israel. I was his assistant-video guy-baggage carrier-and driver!

After traveling all over the country and visiting many places and people, our last stop was Jerusalem. We planned it out to spend ten full days based there to work and explore the city, and also the surrounding towns and places near there. One of the near towns, in fact, so close it is like a suburb, is Bethlehem. We had already spent time in Bethlehem, and I saw and visited all the sites, even had a long talk with the mayor in his office. I had known about the fields outside of Bethlehem, and their significance, but our schedule did not allow me to explore them, as they are large and rolling fields, and it takes a long walk to reach them going out of Bethlehem. But my personal encounter doesn't end there! You may call it fate, or luck, but as I look back on it now, I really believe it was providence!

It was our last day in Jerusalem, and just before we would go to the airport for home. All of our goals were accomplished and we had a final afternoon to either rest, or pack for our flight.

Our leader then asked me if I would drive him to Bethlehem as he had some unfinished business to complete. He said that I could drop him off and then be free to hang out or do whatever I would be there for around four hours!

Of course, I jumped at the chance! Since I had seen most of that little town, there was only one place I had yet to explore, the fields! I spent that entire afternoon walking through the fields of Boaz, or Shepherd's Fields, took pictures, and let my imagination run wild to the stories I had read of Boaz, young David, and the Shepherds on the first Christmas morning. But today, I have more than pictures and memories of that special afternoon. I actually have a tangible, physical, connection to that place which inspired much of this writing!

All through my visit to Israel, I picked up small rocks from each place that I visited. In order to remember where each rock came from, I labeled a plastic bag with each location, and put those rocks in it. Pretty good plan, right? Well, good, if your labels stay on, and your rocks don't fall out and get mixed up! To this day, the rocks that I brought home are scattered throughout the various yards of homes that I lived in, they are long gone. All.....except from one place...the fields of Boaz!

Although there are rocks all over Israel, these were very peculiar looking. I didn't even need to put them in a labeled bag. For some reason, I held on to those rocks now for over twenty years! I still have them staring at me everyday on my desk right now. Furthermore, I "happened" to pick up three rocks. Each rock has represented the three events and methods of God's invasion into our world. Now, I wouldn't call it "a miracle" by any stretch of the word. But I would clearly link my picking up those three stones, and my afternoon walking through those fields, as the inconspicuous covert actions of God working behind the scenes in my life. He knew that yeas later, I would search and study on this subject. He knew, and arranged beforehand, for me to visit those fields, take pictures, and pick up three rocks. He also worked it out for me to somehow manage to remember the identity of those rocks, and not lose them for over twenty years. I cannot prove any of this, and you could just as easily say that it was all luck and how things happen, and you would also have a good case. But based on my belief in the scriptures, and my personal relationship with Jesus, I have no doubt that it was divine providence. Not only in that event and day, but really in every moment and every day of my life, and I believe the same for you!

If those rocks could speak! These rocks may have witnessed the story of Ruth and her "chance" encounter with Boaz, they may have witnessed young David as he tended sheep and first learned to commune with God. These rocks may have witnessed the glory of God shining bright on that first Christmas morning as the Angels gave the announcement of good tidings and great joy to the shepherds. But more than just a history lesson, those rocks also represent a connection to a place where God visited our mundane world in three distinct ways. Since God is over and above time and space, he still invades our world today, interrupting the mundane lives of you and me as we work, live and play within today’s modern world.

“We will find out in heaven that our daily lives were far more significant than we ever realized on earth. Part of learning to worship God all the time is understanding this by faith and beginning to act as if our daily lives made a difference."

John Fischer in Finding God Where You Least Expect Him

“God and God's ways provide the comprehensive plot and sovereign action in the holy scriptures, but human beings, every last man and woman of us, including every last detail involved in our daily living, are invited as honored participants in all of it. There are no spectator seats provided for the drama of salvation. There is no ‘bench’ for incompetent players."

Eugene Peterson in his introduction to the Wisdom books in The Message Bible

“The Spirit of God is available to you and me, flowing all the time, welling up within us. Quenching our unsatisfied desires, overflowing to refresh those around us. He is at work all the time, in every place, and every once in a while - somebody wakes up."

John Ortberg God is Closer Than You Think

· I hope that you are as excited about discovering more of how God works in our lives and world as I am! Of course, we will never know all the ways that he works and moves, but just knowing that he does, and is involved in my little life, brings enormous significance to every day!

In the next chapter of this E-book, I want to explore the kind of people that God seems to work with and use to accomplish his will and purposes in this world.

They are all very mundane, yet magnificent, and their identities may shock you!

In the mean time, grace and peace and thanks for taking time to read. John Boda