God can do anything He damn well pleases

I suppose that title may raise a few eye-brows, but it is a quote from someone else. I'll get to that in a moment.

Yesterday I preached from Acts 12 on the life of King Herod. He was an enemy of God's Church, killing and arresting God's faithful people. In the end, God vindicated His Church by striking dead this enemy of His Church. He was eaten alive by worms. This is not some made-up fairy tale created by the Church to scare people, as even the Jewish historian Josephus, who was not friendly to the Christian faith, records it.

A few chapters earlier in Acts there is a depiction of another enemy of the Church. His name is Saul, and he too is on a rampage, arresting some Christians and taking part in the murder of others. But as he was on his way to arrest more Christians, God miraculously converted him and he became the Church's greatest missionary ever.

These two men looked exactly the same. Yet one of them was eaten by worms, and the other was granted eternal life. What accounts for the difference in the way God dealt with these two men? I think the only answer God gives us is Romans 9:18,

"He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills."

That is not a satisfactory answer to everyone, but I believe it is the biblical answer.

This reminds me of an old quote I came across from Virginia Stem Owens (hence the title of this post):

Let us get this one thing straight. God can do anything he damn well pleases, including damn well. And if it pleases him to damn, then it is done, ipso facto, well. God's activity is what it is. There isn't anything else. Without it there would be no being, including human beings presuming to judge the Creator of everything that is.

I think that is the lesson to be learned in comparing the lives of King Herod and Saul of Tarsus. It is sobering, but I am thankful for times when God puts me in my place.

And it makes me utterly amazed and awe-struck with joy that He chose to have mercy on me.