Published: August 08, 2008 09:36 am            

Unintended results

John Paul Carter, Democrat Columnist

In 1845, two ships under the command of Captain John Franklin set sail from England with a crew of 128 men. Their goal was to find the fabled Northwest Passage to the Orient. The possibility of a more direct way through the arctic ice to the Far East held the promise of even greater riches for the already wealthy British Empire.

Although earlier attempts had failed, there were high hopes for the Franklin expedition. The ships were specially constructed to withstand the pressure of the ice and were manned by a carefully chosen crew. Based on past experience, they expected to be trapped in the ice during their first winter. Accordingly, they took enough provisions to last them well over a year. Because of a new invention — canned foods — they were certain that, no matter how long it took to get through the frozen wasteland, their food supply would be adequate. Most of their provisions for the anticipated long winter’s night in the arctic were packed in air-tight, sealed tins.

So sure were the English authorities of Franklin’s eventual success that there was no great alarm when there had been no word from the expedition in the two years following their departure. But in the third year, concern begin to grow about the explorers’ fate. Search parties were sent out and reported that Eskimo hunters had seen members of the party walking south on the ice two years earlier.

Eventually, several bodies were found along with some journals in which the explorers complained of severe stomach pain and other disabling symptoms. Their deaths were a mystery because the evidence indicated they hadn’t died of starvation or exposure. In later years, forensics determined they had been the victims of lead poisoning from eating the canned food. It had been contaminated by the lead solder used to seal the tins. What was intended to preserve the explorers’ lives had doomed the expedition and caused their tragic deaths.

Because we humans have free will and are neither omniscient nor omnipotent, there’s a maddening unpredictability about life. This shared human condition means that, like those arctic explorers, we also must sometimes deal with “unintended results” as a consequence of our actions. From time to time, in spite of our good intentions and careful planning, the outcome is not what we expected. Happily, results occasionally are better than we anticipated — a serendipity. But at other times we regretfully lament, “I didn’t mean for things to turn out this way.”

Jesus’ prayer from the cross for his crucifiers, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” was about “unintended results.” His enemies thought they were protecting their faith, but the actual result was the rejection of God’s gift of love. Jesus’ forgiveness of them is a sign of God’s forgiveness for us when our actions result in unintentional hurt to others. And it’s also a model for how we should forgive each other.

However, the best news of all is that God takes the hurtful results of our actions — even the intended ones — and works in them for good. As Joseph said to his brothers who had sold him into slavery, “You meant it to me for evil, but God meant it for good.”

When we place the results of our actions, whatever our intentions, in God’s loving, resourceful hands, “You can’t tell a good day from a bad one until all subsequent events have passed.”

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John Paul Carter’s “Notes from the Journey” appear in the Democrat’s Religion page on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. Carter, an ordained minister who attends Central Christian Church, may be contacted by writing him at 107 Bent Oak Road, Weatherford, 76086. Columns submitted to The Weatherford Democrat by guest writers reflect the opinions of the writer and in no way reflect the beliefs or opinions of The Weatherford Democrat.

        

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