God Does Good Work
It was late after- noon, and the main corridor of a major airport was crowded with people. Many were tired, and their faces reflected the tension of a long day.
Tempers were edgy as they hurried along, trying to make connections or find taxis. On the way to her gate, an older woman was being pushed along in a wheelchair by one of the skycaps. Suddenly, in a voice that echoed through the corridor, she cried out, “Good work, God!” Nearly everyone within hearing distance turned toward the woman and saw that she was looking out the large window to her side. Their eyes followed her gaze as they saw the beautiful sunset lighting up the sky. Smiles broke out on all their faces. Suddenly their steps were lighter. The atmosphere of the entire place was transformed by the woman’s observation: “Good work, God!”
We can say, “I know there is a God.” We can say, “I know God.” In response to a glorious sunset, we can even say, “Good work, God!” But if we are serious about wanting to become one with Christ in his intimate union with the Father — if we are open to him in this way, we can almost hear him saying, “I want to tell you more about God. I want to tell you more about how pleased He was to bring you into being. I want to tell you how He created each of you in His image.” If we are serious about wanting to become one with Christ, we must identify, heart and soul, with his ministry of reconciliation. Without exception, we must relate to each other in a way that says, “You are my brother in Christ; you are my sister in Christ. God created you in His image and saw that it was good. Good work, God!” If we are serious about wanting to become one with Christ, we must relate to each other in a way that says, “I want to help bring out the best in you.”
A seminary professor greeted his new first-year students with the following assignment: Study the various schools of thought down through the Ages on whether it is possible to prove, through reason alone, that God exists. For weeks they waded through the heavy philosophical writings of Emmanuel Kant, Thomas Aquinas, and others, struggling to grasp their arguments. But it wasn’t easy, and when the time arrived for the final test, they felt ill-prepared. Then, on the morning scheduled for the big exam, the professor announced that it had been postponed for two weeks. At which point, one of the worried students breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed, “That proves it! There is a God!”
There are lonely people around you who are crying out for a deeper meaning in their lives. And when you respond to them in a sensitive way to their need, they will be seeing signs of God’s Presence in you! You will be a sign of the gracious Father, in love with His creation; a sign of the obedient Son, bringing new life into the Father’s creation; a sign of the Holy Spirit, the very breath of the Father’s love, which Jesus has breathed into your very soul.