A Cameroon Folktale

There was a king who wanted to marry a beautiful woman. The woman, however, refused to marry the king until he built for her a palace made out of bird’s wings.

So, the king invited all of the birds in his kingdom to come to see him, and they all came to him – except for the owls. After several attempts to have them come, the king finally went to see the owls himself. “Why have you not come?” he asked them.

“We have not come because we have been thinking,” they replied.

“What have you been thinking about?” the king asked them.

“We have been thinking about three questions,” they said. “What are the questions?” the king asked.

“First, we are wondering which is longer, day or night? We have decided that the day is longer.” “Why is that?” the king asked them.

“Because when you are lying awake in bed at night, it is as though it is still daytime; therefore, the day is longer than the night.”

“What is the second question?” asked the king.

“The second question is which is longer, the rainy season or the dry season.” “And what have you concluded with that question?”

“We have decided the dry season is longer. This is because during the rainy season there are still times when it does not rain, and so it is as though it is still the dry season then. Therefore, the dry season is longer.”

“And the third question?” queried the king.

“The third question is whether there are more men than women in the world,” the owls said.

“And what have you decided?” the king asked.

“We have decided that there are more women in the world. This is because when men take the advice of women, then they have become like women themselves. Therefore, there are more women in the world.”

The king put all of this into his mind, and thought about his plan to build a palace of bird-wings, and decided that he should not be building it after all. In this way, the owls saved all the rest of the birds.

[PS, yes, I get that this may be construed as misogynist. I am not endorsing that sentiment, but am passing on what I consider to be an interesting folktale from Cameroon.]

Only God Can Do It

There are several clear instances in the Old Testament of God doing various things that only He is able to do. If memory serves, I got these references from Richard Hays’ book, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels.

The first thing only God can do is still the storm and calm the waters. We see this in the Psalms, as well as in Job:

²³ Some went out on the sea in ships;
     They were merchants on the mighty waters.
²⁴ They saw the works of the Lord,
    his wonderful deeds in the deep.
²⁵ For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
    that lifted high the waves.
²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
    in their peril their courage melted away.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
    they were at their wits’ end.
²⁸ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he brought them out of their distress.
²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;
    the waves of the sea were hushed.
³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,
    and he guided them to their desired haven.
³¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
    and praise him in the council of the elders. (Ps 107.23-32; see also Ps 89.9; Job 38.8-11)

A second thing only God can do is to forgive sins. Again, we turn to the Psalmist:

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Ps 103.2-5)

The prophet Isaiah is even clearer:
 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” (43.25)

The third thing we find that only God can do is have people legitimately worship him by bowing their knee, and confessing him with their tongues. This is the testimony of God himself, speaking in Isaiah:

“By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.” (Isa 45.23)

Now, if you ask Christians why they worship Jesus, and believe that he is divine: the Second Person of the Trinity, and the Son of God: these three things may come to mind.

We see Jesus doing the first thing that only God can do, namely, stilling the waves and calming the storm. All three Synoptic Gospels tell the story, with Mark leading the way.

“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’

“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

“He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’

“They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mark 4.35-41)

Again, reading from the Gospel of Mark (though it is found in all the Synoptics), we find Jesus doing the second thing only God can do, forgiving sins – and proving it by also healing the forgiven sinner. I abbreviate the story a bit, picking it up in Mark 2.5.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some of the teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up, take your mat and walk”? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Finally (though there is lots more that could be said), from the testimony of Paul and the early church, we read about the third thing that will happen to Jesus that can only happen to God.

In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul writes concerning Jesus:

God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

And every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

(Philippians 2.9-11)

This, very briefly, is part of the reason why Christians believe that Jesus Christ is divine, the Son of God, and worship him as such.