"Concurrent operation" is the theological idea that every event that comes to pass in our world, apart from its natural cause, is simultaneously and fully the operation of God. For example, when it rains, it is proper to say, "God gave us this rain" as well as "a rising warm air system has collided with a sinking cold air system." God is the first cause, but both the divine cause and the natural cause are real, and operate concurrently, not in competition. This is not just a theological axiom, but a fundamental for the spiritual life. In other words, the more you believe in concurrent operation, the more you: 1) thank God for every good thing that happens; 2) trust that God is up to something valuable when bad things happen; 3) pray for all kinds of things, knowing that all events, however mundane or momentous, are under his control.
As for prayer and concurrent operation, I've been noticing lately how much the Psalmist glorifies God for his work in the normal operation of the world. In the case of the animal kingdom, notice: Ps. 29:9, "the voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth"; Ps. 104:21 "the young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God"; Ps.104:27ff. "these [animals] all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your breath, they are created." So, in addition to what National Geographic has taught us, lions also can be said to look for their food and receive it from God, they are dismayed or happy depending on what God provides them, they die when God determines, and are born when he breathes new life into a cub. Perhaps a culture as scientifically advanced as ours needs to be re-convinced of the dotrine of concurrent operation the same way the Psalmist was -- if we were, instead of letting God get sqeezed-out with our advances in knowledge, we'd just find more things to praise God for..." when you give them the word, O Lord, the chromosomes divide, the stem cells commit to be a particular tissue, the electrons spin and never collide..." Or as Gerard Manley Hopkins reminds us, "The world is charged with the grandeur of God...Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs - Because the Holy Ghost over the bent world broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings."
2 comments:
"All for this and nature is never spent."
Hard to go wrong with a Hopkins quote.
Great post, Brian. I stared at the brilliantly green leaves on my hydrangea plant for about 10 minutes yesterday, marvelling at how perfectly, well, green God made them! I was also praising him for the excellent pipe tobacco I happened to be enjoying at the time.
I think that man tends to file the normal, day-to-day operations of nature under "normal things", which may make sense. However, I think that our fallen nature tends to split "things of God" from "normal things".
As you mentioned in a sermon not too long ago, we can praise God for answering prayer for the sick to be healed, and we can also praise him for the work accomplished by doctors, medicine, and the natural healing of the human body. As faithless beings, we tend to want to observe supernatural, out-of-the-ordinary occurances.
If the super-normal (or supernatural) was commonly observed, it would be, by definition, normal. The fact that God frequently uses "natural" means to certain ends does not change the fact that they are miraculous means. It truly is faithless living to not recognize God's hand in the "normal".
Thanks for the monday reading! :)
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