Futurama on Divine Intervention

Was at work today, and caught the last few minutes of 'Futurama'. I don't normally watch the show, and probably won't ever, but it did address one interesting issue. One of the robots met God, who was depicted as a deep male voice projecting out of a group of coloured stars (?), and apparantly found out that God cannot be trusted to do anything about bad situations. Some people were trapped in a laundry, eating shoes (again, '?'), and so the robot, instead of asking God to do anything about it, decided to do something about it himself.

'What a rotten ending!', I thought. But then it showed the group of coloured stars - and the voice said "if you do things the right way, no one will ever know you did anything". In other words, God had used the robot to save the people, without taking the credit but achieving His purposes in the end.

Do you think that is an accurate picture of God? When God works, for example, when he miraculously heals someone who is sick (which has happened to me), or when he causes one of those things we call 'coincidences' (such as the times when I've decided to go a different way home and found I'd avoided a huge accident that happened on the other route), do you think He disguises his work so that people don't know it's Him, or does he do things to show his great power, intending that all see and recognise it was Him?

I reckon a few things about this (but feel free to add your opinion)...

One is that God actively works in the world, and does not just stand off and laugh at our troubles like some people think. God cares for hurting people, and while he allows humans to choose how they behave, he is working in difficult situations to help people know that He loves them, and to encourage them to have a comforting friendship with Him.

Secondly, I think that God is pleased when people acknowledge the good things He's done, not because he selfishly wants all the credit (God by his nature is love, and is not selfish), but because he knows that whatever we worship, we become like. Those things that we adore in love (be they good or bad), will eventually rub off on us as people. And who would be the best one for us to be like? God, because he is loving, kind, merciful, generous, and all the best qualities one could have, to the max. God wants us to become like him, in order that his world be transformed into the great place that he intended it to be. Of course, we can't measure up to the greatness of God, because we're fallen human beings who are not perfect. But with God's help, we can reflect his goodness and change the world around us. God desires that we worship him alone, and that we thank him for the things he's done for us. Besides, having an attitude of thankfulness for the good things that have been done for us makes us better people - less self centred, more appreciative of the things we do have, less focused on the things we do not.

So does God draw attention to himself when he works in the world? I think sometimes yes (through undeniable displays of his power, such as in miraculous healing and people rising from the dead), and I think sometimes no (in which case it is our job as those who follow Him to recognise the good things He's done and to highlight them for all to see).

Ultimately, God gave one great sign that He cares about the plight of human beings - one momentous display of his love and concern for our suffering and desperation. What was that sign? Jesus, his son. Jesus, in his death and resurrection, showed that not only does God care about us, but he is willing to pay the biggest price possible so that our lives can be changed, and we can have peace.