So how can we answer that question, where's God in all of this?

The advent of 3D printing is an amazing piece of technology. I first saw it in about 2006 where a technician left the machine overnight to produce an amusing air-ball with a second ball inside it. It looked very clever… how did they stop the middle ball sticking to the outer ball? The ABS polymer they used to make the product seemed quite brittle and powdery to the touch and it would not be easy to enhance the aesthetics of the design. I could see a purpose in having the machine as a model making tool, but as a functional item that could be used to make replacement parts for everyday products, I would have doubts.

Previously in the news, we have had the concept of artificial organs being built up on a 3D printer, presumably from some kind of protein, to enable it to be encoded with some DNA so that it functions as the real organ? It’s all very clever. 

This week however, we wake to the news that a working gun has been manufactured on the 3D printer, requiring only a nail from a hardware store to act as the firing pin. Those with a slightly paranoid nature may instantly think of terrorists going through metal detectors un-detected, before assembling the weapon to do their deadly deed like Mr.Salamander in the ‘The man with the Golden Gun.’                   

                       

The organisation behind the development of the gun want to publish the blue print’s as they believe that they needed to be the first with this technology not to arm the terrorist, but to arm the innocent whom may be threatened by the said terrorist. There is an odd logic here.

This type of reasoning has had me thinking a lot this week. I have been considering the issue of truth and how we determine what rules in life are important. Some truth cannot be changed as it forms the core of the dogma we all  universally believe in. Dogma is an official belief within an organisation or religion that cannot be changed without fundamentally changing the essence of the truth by which we believe. The group behind the 3D printed gun want to protect the American constitution 2^nd amendment that gives citizens the right to carry a fire arm and in so doing, protect the ‘dogma’ of society…

"I'm seeing a world where technology says you can pretty much be able to have whatever you want. It's not up to the political players any more " (Cody Wilson; Defence Distributed; 6^th May 2013)

This level of individualism is disturbing. Does this group really believe that we are heading to a society where political leaders cannot tell people how we should interact, and what controls are needed to ensure harmonious lives? If we go down the route of self-determining which values we are to adhere to in society, then we will lose the ability to trust that the other person we are interacting with, will honour what they say. Will they do the things asked of them in the way that the culture we are immersed in expects? For example, all cultures draw from one another to determine how to do business. The level of trust we are prepared to offer the other party with our business contract is how we grow our wealth and how we work-out our business ethics. 

The tragic collapse of the textile factory in Bangladesh is an example of how globalisation makes connections with people around the world. The media suggested that the infrastructure of Bangladesh is left undeveloped because any re-investment needs to be paid for out of the profitability of the business. 

Thus they would need to raise prices or make cuts in other areas, risking being exposed to their competitors in other countries, and lose their contracts to a very fickle western market. It shows that without regulation, businesses and the managers that work for them, are prepared to devalue workers and their working conditions, for the sake of profit.

What we purchase will affect the life choices available to others in the world as much as the decisions made in other parts of the world can affect me. Making ethical choices about what types of food or clothing, electronic gadget, sport or holiday we purchase, has a knock on effect on those dependent on the types of choice we make. 

My home town of Morecambe in Lancashire with a view overlooking the Lake District that cannot be rivalled, was in its Edwardian heyday, a massive holiday destination. It catered for Scottish factory workers and those from Lancashire and Cheshire, whose two week holiday filled the seaside town, providing wealth and growth. 

Today, Morecambe is a ghost of its former self because we all holiday abroad in guaranteed sunshine, with cheap package holidays that are more cost effective than staying in the UK. Morecambe’s former bed and breakfast guest houses have been transformed into run-down bed-sits for those on some kind of welfare. There is little opportunity for employment without travelling, as there were no other forms of industry in the town except for tourism.

Many areas around the world have this same pattern of growth and decline. During the boom times, populations grew and the sprawl of urbanisation is a pattern we see around the developed world, and in the many shanty towns of the developing world. Often in conflict zones where migrant workers have been forced off the land, its community that keeps people living in those places… that sense of belonging to a space and place in time. I have now lived longer away from Morecambe than I actually spent there, but as the place of my birth, it still holds a special place in my heart. It’s with great sadness when I see the decline and poverty there today, but I get a similar feeling when I hear stories and see images of famine or drought, and of war and natural disasters.

So what am I trying to say you might be asking? My question dear reader is one of ethics. What motivates one group of people to be drawn together in community, despite the circumstances they face? How does that sense of community allow for the various interested parties to resolve conflict and determine a common good that transcends the detail behind the situation in favour of the whole? 

I no longer live in Morecambe, but have brought my children up to know my home town well. We usually stay in a hotel when I visit family to promote tourism. This can seem quite trivial in one sense, but it is the interactions in our communities that build confidence in them. When we look at the human tragedy around the world, it prompts many to ask where God is in that situation… God doesn't dwell in the church building, but in the hearts of those that believe. How we respond to what we have learned of our world and the injustice we witness, prompts us to act. Our action demonstrates our faith in the one who calls us into his service -Jesus.

This is in stark contrast to the idea that people groups need to defend their ideals at all cost, using all necessary force available. To such a group as Defence Distributed, the 3D printed gun may be an acceptable development to preserve their sense of peace and the 2nd amendment. For others, it can be seen as a potential threat to their freedom. To think that anyone in the street could be armed in such a way that their weapon would be undetectable to current scanning technology feeds a certain type of paranoia.

North Korea has recently used the same kind of reasoning… Feeling threatened by the influence of western capitalism and the squeeze felt by the sanctioning they have received as a result of the nuclear tests they have conducted,North Korea have felt the need to assert their place in the world community by flexing its military muscle. 

In Syria, the continuing violent conflict has destroyed a generation of that society. There seems to be no end to the violence. The suggestion that chemical warfare has been deployed by the Syrian authorities is being touted in the media as a possible trigger for the west to uphold their sense of democratic choice within the confines of the United Nations, and enter into this arena.

We are not to know if those committed to removing President Assad are any different to the regime they fight. The media have linked them to stories associated with the Taliban, whom the west have been fighting a war of terror with around the world. So I am confused by the reasoning behind the decisions or the in-decision made by those who propose a course of action that could draw nations into a conflict that may not have any determinable outcome. There is such a tragic loss of life here... so what would Jesus do?

So what about us? How do we respond to these situations? How do the decisions we make affect the world we live in directly or indirectly? Do I choose to shop in the retail store ‘PRIMARK’ as they have been using the cheap labour in Bangladesh, along with other retailers, to support their low prices? OR do I continue to shop there, knowing that I am keeping some people in employment? Do I make sure that I have bought ‘Fair-Trade’ coffee to make certain that those who farm it receive a fair share of the profit? Do I avoid paying my taxes because I can declare an operating loss or write-off tax against a charitable donation, when said charity are unaware that the donation has been paid or that they have even received it?

There are some clear direction’s given to us as Christians throughout the bible that can help us in this decision making. Sometimes we can read these directly from the text, and at times we need to find the meaning behind the message, to help us decide for or against a course of action. Some decisions are applied through a filter of cultural relevance. Why do we choose to do certain things exactly as written in the pages of the bible, and why do we ignore others?

God set the path we should follow. Right at the beginning of his-story found in the bible, the birth and establishment of the nation of Israel dominates the early biblical writings. God found in Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel, a man of faith. Abraham knew that the wealth he had acquired and the peace he had with his neighbours could only be attributed to the God he believed in, and in whom he placed his trust. Abraham looked upon the civilisation that he was born into, and was credited by God for doing the right thing – he was righteous. We don’t know much about Abraham’s personal walk with God, but we have the remarkable story in Genesis 22 of the test he endured, in order to refine his faith.

God asks Abraham to perform an act of worship where he was to make a blood sacrifice to Yahweh. A blood sacrifice is a symbol of atonement used in ancient cultures. You can pronounce it phonetically as ‘At-one-ment' to give it meaning. Atonement is a theological word meaning the process where man can be reconciled to God through the payment of our sin. In ancient cultures, animals were used as sacrifices.

Abraham was aware that he was designed to honour and worship Yahweh. God called Abraham to sacrifice his son by going and building an altar, and in preparing the wood for the fire. His son assists with this build as he would have been taught in the ways of his people. Insightful as children are, he mentions to his dad that there doesn't seem to be an animal to sacrifice. I can’t imagine the process that Abraham went through in order to bind his boy and place him on the Altar, but I can expect that the emotions would be tumultuous.

At the very moment that Abraham goes to sacrifice his son, God calls out to him to stop. He never intended Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, but he did need to find out what Abraham's faith, trust and heart stood. Caught in a thorn bush is a young ram that is substituted for his son. The idea of atonement in the story is a symbol of the future life of Jesus. His birth and death were foretold centuries before the events that took place in Jerusalem many years later. We can see through the story how God provides the means by which we can be cut free from the slavery of our sin, and be released into a new life. Abraham knew that dependence on the one true God, Yahweh was sufficient for his faith, and his life bore witness to that truth.

Abraham’s faith was to serve Yahweh will all of his heart, with all of his belongings, and with all of his self! This is the heart that God saw as this story was played out in real-time! In verse 15, we can read the covenant that God made with Abraham as a result of the faith he showed. Through this story and the account of history that not even the Hollywood script writers could come up with, God works with the hearts of people. As we respond to God’s call in our lives, we are drawn out from our home, our familiar setting, and our comfort, and we are tasked with demonstrating the God of love here and now.

Abraham’s son Isaac goes on to father Jacob, whose son is Joseph. Joseph, through his determination to do the will of God, saves his family from years of famine in the protection of a nation who saw what Joseph’s God Yahweh had accomplished through him. Like Joseph, we are called out into this world to reveal the fathers heart. I pray that there will be today, even as I write, people praying for Syria, people writing to MP’s challenging them to seek clarification of what aid we can offer the people of Syria, and some of us who may be called to help in real practical terms, as many Christians have done through time for many different causes.

It’s about our heart. I was reading in Ezekiel 18 the other day and was reminded of some of the customs of Israel that I had forgotten. Ideas such as not charging interest; writing off debt in the year of the jubilee; providing for the treatment of people who had become enslaved, and giving them hope for a point in time when they would be freed. God’s people had to welcome the stranger, the weak, the sick and the poor. These obligations were all part of their culture so that they could reveal the heart of God to the world. We have the same mission today. This is the description of the righteous man from verse 5:

^{5 "}Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right... ⁷ He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. ⁸ He does not lend to them at interest or take a profit from them. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between two parties. ⁹ He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord”

When I am at work, how am I showing the love of God to those I work with? Jesus commands us to serve them as we would serve him. Matthew 25: 34 to 40 is a stunning passage of Jesus teaching. He points out that if we were to serve people, then we were serving him.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those... ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

So when people ask where God is in times of crisis, we have to ask whether we have allowed God in to do his work, or have we rejected him?

Serving people sometimes means making sacrifices at times when perhaps we are at our lowest ebb… I wrote last week about my friend who suffers from schizophrenia. Early on Saturday morning, he rang the doorbell in need of some conversation. It was also the morning of my son’s birthday party. Aware that we had to be ready to leave the house in about 2hrs, we could see that this was not going to be easy. My wife leapt into action preparing some food and getting ready for the party, while I sat and listened. I felt a bit of a fraud as the organising was going on around us, but as the conversation went on, I had to keep praying, God help! Give me something, anything to help my friend.

My friend was questioning everything, his faith, his life, his hope. He had become paranoid, believing that the CCTV cameras were watching him due to his past indiscretions. He talked about ‘having had enough’ and not being certain where it was all going. I had to check what these feelings meant to him. Where they suicidal tendencies or the talk of someone just questioning; was he even on his medication?

Fifteen minutes before my sons party was to start, we had got to the bottom line… He had reached a crisis point where despite all of his best efforts; he could not find a sense of peace. We needed to pray that God’s spirit would begin a work in him (and me), that would transform our hearts and minds to help us interact with the world around us and empower us to live a life that would honour God.

Without the touch of God, we cannot comprehend the mess of the world we live in, or indeed the motivations inside the minds of others, or indeed, our own head. We can only invite God’s presence here, there and everywhere. He dwells in each one of those who confess their sin to the son who has the power to atone for all that we do wrong, continue to get wrong, and will definitely get wrong in the future. In these times, this is how Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come, 
your will be done, 
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us. 
Lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil. 
For the kingdom, 
the power and the glory are yours. 
Now and for ever, Amen

When all hope is lost, God is in control and his Kingdom reigns. We are co-heirs of the inheritance that Jesus has won for us.We are not alone and have the power within us through the work of the Holy Spirit, to be an agent of change. Pray that the Lords kingdom will come, and his will be done, but be prepared to be the answer.

God Bless, till next time.