Absorbing and transforming evil.

One of the most moving aspects of Jesus was the way that He chose to deal with evil. We seem to have this mindset that evil is something to be beaten. It's an invisible foe with whom we go to war. While I do not want to negate the idea of spiritual warfare, I think we have to realize that when Jesus encountered evil He absorbed it and transformed it. That's what Isaiah was looking forward to when he wrote

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Is. 53:4-6, emphasis mine)

Jesus absorbed the evil all around Him, took it to the cross and killed it. His resurrection transformed all evil into His own goodness. But how can that be, when we see evil all around us? Bombings in London, AIDS in Africa, poverty and exploitation world wide. It appears that evil is alive and well. Let me see if I can explain myself.

I'll start with Hebrews 2:8-9

In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Emphasis mine)

In Jesus, all evil is transformed. God uses absolutely everything to accomplish His purpose of bringing Himself glory in the earth.

One of the most obvious ways we can see this today is in the lessons that we learn from our own sin. God uses our mistakes and failures to strip away the evil that resides within our own heart. He used David's sin with Bathsheba to make David into a man after God's heart. He used Peter's denials and Thomas' doubts to deepen their humility and trust. He used Paul's "thorn in the flesh" to keep the one who would write more books of the Bible than anyone else in a state of humility and dependence.

Two things I have read lately have reinforced this idea. First, in THE TEMPLE, by George Herbert, I read a section called Affliction (IV)

BROKEN in pieces all asunder,
Lord, hunt me not,
A thing forgot,
Once a poor creature, now a wonder,
A wonder tortured in the space
Betwixt this world and that of grace.

My thoughts are all a case of knives,
Wounding my heart
With scattered smart ;
As wat'ring-pots give flowers their lives.
Nothing their fury can control,
While they do wound and prick my soul.

All my attendants are at strife
Quitting their place
Unto my face :
Nothing performs the task of life :
The elements are let loose to fight,
And while I live, try out their right.

Oh help, my God ! let not their plot
Kill them and me,
And also Thee,
Who art my life : dissolve the knot,
As the sun scatters by his light
All the rebellions of the night.

Then shall those powers which work for grief,
Enter Thy pay,
And day by day
Labour Thy praise and my relief :
With care and courage building me,
Till I reach heav'n, and much more, Thee.

Jeff Kuhn translation - All those things that plague me will actually be used by God to transform me.

Another book that brought this to mind is John Piper's narrative poem on Job. All throughout the poem Piper uses the term "Leviathan" to symbolize the work of Satan against the life of Job. The most moving section for me is after all of Job's suffering is over. He shares the story with his new daughter. She is full of questions...

But, Papa, please, one more: would you
Tell me about the wind that blew —
About the whirlwind and the word
Of God. You told me once you heard
the very voice of God. What did
He say?"

"He said, 'There's giant squid
Beneath the sea you've never seen,
And mountain goats above the green
Tree line that bring forth kids on cliffs
So high and steep that little whiffs
Of Wind would make a human fall.'
God asked me, 'Is the wild ox all
At your command? And will he stay
The night beside your crib and play
Or work with you on leashes made
Of hemp? And have the horses brayed
At your command, and do you make
Them leap like locusts? Do they break
Through shield and chariot because
You formed their neck? What laws
Of flight have you designed for hawks?
Have you devised the way he walks
On wind and snatches up his prey
In flight? And could you ever play
With stars to loose Orion, seize
The distant chains of Pleiades?
Where were you, Job, when I with mirth
The great foundations of the earth
Did lay, and all the sons of God
Rejoiced to watch a formless clod
Become the habitation of
My bride? Did you once brood above
The waters and appoint their bounds?
And have you joined the King who crowns
The mammoth sky with morning light?
Come, Job, gird up your feeble might
And make your case against the Lord.
Do you know where the snow is stored
Or how I make the hail and rain,
Or how a buried seed bears grain,
How ravens find their food at night
And lilies clothe themselves with white?
And finally, my servant, Job,
Can you draw down and then disrobe
Leviathan, the king of all
The sons of pride, and in his fall
Strip off his camouflage of strength,
And make him, over all the length
Of earth and heav'n, to serve the plan
Of humble righteousness? I can.
I make Leviathan my rod.
Belovèd Job, behold your God!"
"And what did you say, Papa, when
The Lord was done?" I said, "Amen,
And bowed as low as I could bow.
Come here, my lass, I'll show you how."
And when she crouched before his feet
He picked her up, and with a sweet
And tender grip he said, "Watch this."
And on her cheek he put a kiss.

Behold the light of candle four:
What we have lost God will restore
When he is finished with his art,
The silent worship of our heart.
When God creates a humble hush,
And makes Leviathan his brush,
It won't be long until the rod
Becomes the tender kiss of God.

Our God is the God who uses evil for good. He absorbs the worst that Satan has to offer and trasforms it into life. When this truth begins to sink in, the following words seem to have a bit more depth.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

A God who absorbs and transforms evil. That is a God worthy of all honor and glory.