In this series we are reprinting Spokesman articles by early leaders in the CLC. Pastor James Albrecht is the curator of the series. Rev. Otto J. Eckert (1901-1974) was a leader in the formation of the CLC. He held several pastorates in Lower Michigan, including Hemlock, Tawas City and Saginaw. He was a prolific contributor to the Lutheran Spokesman. This article is from the November 1972 issue. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.
An August 2 editorial in the New York Times states that the 1972 presidential election “is fated to be decided by human accident, blunder, and caprice, by things unplanned, unforeseen, and untold that leave the actors and spectators alike stunned with disbelief. The whole scenario would have been different but for the Kennedy tragedy at Chappaquiddick, the bullet in George Wallace’s spine, Tom Eagleton’s fatal silence at Miami Beach, Hubert Humphrey’s vain yearning for one last chance, and Ed Muskie’s emotional outburst in the New Hampshire primary. In a flash these accidents change the question, close the door on some careers and open it to others.”
The Unseen Hand
The editorial calls all these things accidents, and they may be so called in the sense of being unexpected and unforeseen. But be that as it may, God still rules in all things, whether they be purely accidental or the result of human passion, misjudgment, or even crime. This does not mean that God is responsible for mistakes in accidents or for evil in deeds. . . . But accidents and evil deeds cannot occur without God’s permission, and when they occur He uses them in His providential rule in the affairs of men. Thus we would never blame God for all or any of the wickedness of those who brought our Savior to the cross. Their wicked deeds were theirs to answer for alone. But God . . . took them into His plan and worked them in accordance with His own counsel and will to achieve His desired end.
That is true also in the affairs of nations and of our nation and its election. “The Kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations.” (Psalm 22:28) A presidential election is by the people. Our votes have a share in it as we use our best judgment in the interest of our country’s welfare. But the unseen hand of God directs it, and the outcome will be according to His scheme. “The powers that be are ordained of God.” (Romans 13:1)
God’s Aim and Purpose
What is the aim and purpose of God’s providence in all this? Sometimes it may be to bring judgment upon the wickedness of men. . . . But for the church there is a blessing in God’s providence. Ephesians 1:22 tells us that all things have been put under our Savior’s feet and that He is given to be the Head over all things to the church. . . . He works in all things and makes all things work together for its good in all that He permits, directs, and controls, so that “the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14)
Our Comfort
God’s providence extends no less to the smallest gnat than to the biggest elephant and concerns itself as much with the lowliest worm as with the majestic lion. The sands of the sea and the infinitesimal number of ultra-microscopic atoms are in His hand as much as the brightest stars of the firmament. So are also all big things and little things in our lives. . . . Our failures in spite of our best efforts, our successes in spite of our blunders, the coincidences and accidents in our life, and the grief and sorrow that come to us, are all in His control.
More Than Sparrows
For us who are worth more to Him than many sparrows all has to work out according to His pattern devised in love and wisdom and carried out by His might. We may not always understand. . . .
Luther says, “Our Lord God works like a printer, who sets his letters backward; we see and feel His setting, but we shall see the print yonder—in the life to come.” Meanwhile, “we walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) This is not fatalism, . . . . we should commit all things to God’s direction in our prayers, knowing that He will ever hear and bless, sometimes miraculously. May God strengthen us in such faith!
1901-1974
