God’s Use of the Repulsive

 I hate ticks, chiggers, mosquitoes, basically any flying, biting insects (honeybees excluded), but if you want to see me flail my arms like a windmill in a hurricane watch me walk into a spider web.  Yea they are marvels of creation and great at dealing with bugs but I hate spider webs on me.  I actually find them wonderful to watch but only when the web is not on me.  Spider are loathsome and repulsive.

It always struck me as odd that King Saul went into the cave at En-gedi alone or at least without a bodyguard.  It would seem that in a case of close pursuit and the anticipation of mortal combat it would make sense that the king, even when relieving himself would have someone with him.  Maybe he did; scripture is silent.  But there is a Rabbinic tradition that explains why Saul would go alone into a place that could have concealed a deadly enemy.  According to the Rabbinic story, after David and his company hid in the cave God sent a spider to weave her web at the mouth of the cave. When Saul saw the spider's web over the cave's mouth, he very naturally concluded that it could be the haunt of neither men nor wild beasts and, therefore, went in with confidence to relieve himself.  Of course this story is apocryphal, but it holds a valuable lesson.  God used and continues to use things we might find repulsive, such as a loathsome spider, not only to accomplish His will but also to serve us. 

Since the New Thought Movement from the early to mid 19^th century, American culture has been held captive to the cult of positive thinking.  We haven’t the time here to look into New Thought in detail, but it has profoundly impacted American Christianity and not necessarily in Biblical ways.  One expression I came across was a preacher whose favorite saying was, “We don’t want no stinking thinking.”  In other words, no one is allowed to offer a negative opinion or dark vibe. 

But there is a problem.   First of all, the negatives of the world will not be overcome strictly by positive, up-beat messages and attitudes.  Second, sometimes those things that are truly negative are profoundly helpful.  Third, if we reject all the negative stuff in the Bible it becomes hollow, shallow and vapid.  When we read and take seriously the Psalms it sounds more like B. B. King than Tiny Tim.  The book of Ecclesiastes can have no application and meaning unless we embrace dark and painful realities.  The denial of deep darkness reduces “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani” to a metaphor, a memory verse, or a symbol and makes a mockery of the cross.

There is victory and hope in our faith, but to fully engage the victory and hope we have to fully engage in the darkness.  When we don’t, it is as if we want Heaven to be an amplified version of the good life we have now.  We’ve got it pretty good and the power of the resurrection life we have in Christ is only an upgraded modification and improvement of this life.

In the blasphemous movie “The Life of Brian” the song “Always look on the Bright Side of Life” accompanies the crucifixion scene.  Ironically, that is not unlike what we do when we practice positive thinking Christianity.  No doubt there is glory, but it is always on the other side of the Cross.  Let the repulsive of life turn our hearts toward our hope.