"How do you do?" is a very old fashioned way of saying hello. But what does it really mean, and how do you answer it? I was always taught to answer it with same in reply: "How do you do?", "How do you do?"
Strange when you think about it. These days we are more likely to ask "What do you do?" but that can be awkward if the person doesn't "do" anything worthwhile or feels they don't. What does God do? It's a serious question.
God is . . . love, good, powerful, just, merciful, creator, saviour, sustainer, trinity, and so on, but what does he actually do? Well it's a slightly facetious if not downright blasphemous question.
For a start God "is" - he introduces himself in the Old Testament as "I am". He just is.
Second, what doesn';t he do? He is everywhere active and living, especially in the church and he is always calling and responding.
Third, who would dare ask God what he does all day?! Clergy, fine. What DO they do all day??!!, but God. Well, no. It's a stupid question and a rude one to boot. In our reading today from Romans (8:26-39) God is doing a lot. If you remember your English grammar you will remember that a verb is a doing word, and in Romans 8 God has lots of verbs. Let's have a look at them, but first let's distinguish between the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and let's start with the Holy Spirit:
He . . . helps us, prays for us [ie. Intercedes with the Father for us].
Now let's look at the Father, sometimes just called God:
He . . .
looks into our hearts
knows the mind of the Spirit
wants the Spirit to pray
works for the good of those who love him.
plans
chooses
appoints
justifies [= "made right with himself"]
glorifies [= "given his glory"]
gives his own Son and everything else.
Now let's look at Jesus Christ, the Son of God:
He . . . is at the right hand of God and is also praying for us
died and was raised
loves us
God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - are doing all these good things for us and to us.
So that's God. But there's some other verbs in this passage and they belong to an enemy or enemies up to no good. Look at the verbs that he or she or they get in verses 33, 34, & 35: "Accusing" us, "condemning" us, "separating" us from the love of God, but these are dealt with - given short shrift. God is for us, loving us.
God's Spirit lives in us and pray to the Father for us.
God's Son lived and died and rose again for us.
God's plans are BIG
God has chosen us from before the beginning of time, given us his Son, put us right with him, and made us to shine with the light of his glory for all eternity.
So to conclude:
Notice two things: The first is that there is nothing that is bigger or stronger than God's love. Look at the rhetorical questions and the list at the end:
"Who can be against us?
Who can bring any charge against God's chosen ones?
Who can sentence us to death?
Who can separate us from Christ's love?
Can trouble or hard times or harm or hunger?
Can nakedness or danger or war?
I am absolutely sure that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, not the highest places or the lowest, or anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Sometimes it's hard to remember that God's love is bigger and stronger and more powerful and more permanent than our troubles. There is nothing that comes between God and us, nothing that can stop him loving us, because there is nothing powerful enough to displace or dislodge the love of God.
So point one of two: "nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The second and final point is another "nothing". It is the "nothing" that we do.Notice in this passage how God makes all the running, takes all the initiative, does everything. All those verbs are his, and we, what verbs do we get? What do we do? Nothing. Nix, nada, zip, zilch, zero.
Nowt.
Sometimes that's hard. We want to help, we want to be busy, we want to play our part. In Christian terms this means we want to pray, to serve, to do all the things that the Church and the Bible say we should. Sometimes perhaps we should shut up and sit still and just "be", let God do the work, let the his Spirit and his Son say the prayers, let the all the words and deeds be his.
I'm not saying that we should be passive or lazy, but I am saying that we should sometimes just sit and be in the presence of God. God knows better than us what needs to be done, and will do it. God knows better than us the prayers we would or should or could say.
Do you think God needs your prayers or your work? We are like children who help out with the housework but end up making more mess, or who buy their parents presents with the pocket money that their parents gave them in the first place. I think that what God wants is our hearts -- not our words or our deeds.
Imagine a child simply sitting with mum or dad. I think that that's what God wants even more than prayers to him or work in his service. This week I put on a c.d. of Christian music, lay down on the floor and just sat with God. No endless petitions and intercessions - no wracking my memory for people and places and issues and problems to bring before him. Not even any thanks and praise.Just peace in the presence of God. Not passive, not lazy, just peaceful in the presence of God.