Recently I was talking with a good friend about the whole concept of God's Sovereignty and it got me thinking. I wondered what you guys thought. So read this and tell me what you think.
God's Sovereignty means His authority over all of creation (like a "king" or a "sovereign"). My friend was telling me about a time when someone close to him was in the hospital. He was praying for them to pull through as a man next to him was praying for their loved one to pull through as well. Later on, my friend got the news that his loved one was going to make it. Shortly (like minutes) after that, the other guy found out that his loved one was not going to make it. They were going to die. Why did one get to live and the other die? The Sovereignty of God.
At some point, God determined that it was best for one person to live and not the other. In a sense this is the most normal thing in the world. You see, even though my friend's loved one made it, they are not going to "make it" forever. Someday, they are going to die (unless Jesus comes back). The question here isn't "Why did one die and one live." We are all going to die and so what does it really matter when or how? The question to me was, "How did God decide?"
What leads God to decide the things He does? On what basis does He make His decisions? As I thought this through, I had a couple of thoughts.
Isaiah 46:10 says, "I make known the end from the begining, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please."
1) God is working with a far bigger picture than I am. He not only deals with what we see now, but also what has been before and what will come next. He sees the present, the past and the future equally clearly. Obviously then, He sees things I cannot possibly know (and that He is under no obligation to reveal to me, although sometimes He will). This knowledge must be a factor.
2) God has a purpose. There is a reason behind everything that He ever does. He is moving all creation and all history toward a goal. That plan is good (because He is good). So then, the decisions He makes are always strategic. This strategy must be a factor.
3) God has the power. He will do all that He pleases. There is no one who can stop Him or stand up to Him. His power must also be a factor.
Put all this together and what we end up with is a fundamentally good, all powerful God, who knows everything and is moving history toward something. I can't prentend to understand all of his decisions. Frankly, it would be the ultimate arrogance to question any of His decisions. Do I think I know better than the Being I just described? Am I going to point something out to Him that He didn't know? Am I going to think of something He didn't? DUH! Of course not.
So, I guess His sovereignty isn't scary or mean but really comforting. Because everything that happens is moving us forward towards His good purposes. I know that we are waging a war with the forces of Darkness, and that God has (for some reason) let people choose sides. Furthermore, not everyone will choose His. I also know that war means casualties and pain. But I also know how this war turns out. I know that God's purposes cannot be stopped. And I know that I am on the side that wins.
And that is comforting. Even when I don't understand every little decision. I know the trend and I can trust my God.
Showing posts with label 2006. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2006. Show all posts
Thursday, August 28, 2008
In light of my last blog and the conversations I have had since then, the next logical topic for me to discuss is what is known in academic circles as the Problem of Evil. Let me start off by saying that whole books are written about this subject (and books are then written in responses to those books...but I digresss). In seminary, they offered a whole semester long class on this subject alone. That means that there is a lot to talk about and I am only going to scratch the surface. "The point of writing this?" you ask. Because I was thinking about it and I am not the only one.
So, what is the problem of evil (POE)? The POE goes something like this.
1) God is all powerful
2) God is all good
3) Evil exists
Some people then go on to say, all 3 of these can't be true. Either God wants to stop evil but He can't and therefore premise 1 is wrong. Or he can and he doesn't; in which case premise 2 is wrong. We all know premise 3 is right so no ones arguing this point. So either God is weak, bad or simply doesn't exist.
There are a billion responses to this. But I want to talk about the one Jesus gives in Matthew. Matthew 13:24-30 24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28 "'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29 "'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"
Jesus later explains the parable this way. He says that the field is the world. The good seed stands for the Sons of the Kingdom (those who receive and respond to the word). But there are other seed. There is an enemy, the Devil who also sows seed in the field. These are the people who receive and respond to his unholy word. In the parable, initially it is impossible to tell which is which. But as time progresses, it becomes evident that there is a problem. The the workers (angels) are outraged. They ask the master, didn't you plant good seed? He assures them that he did and that the weeds (or the sons of the evil one) are the result of the enemy. They then want to rip all the weeds up but they are stopped. The master stops them because in the tearing up of the weeds some of the wheat might be damaged, which is something he refuses to risk. So the order is "Let both grow together until the harvest." Then rip them up and burn the weeds and bring the wheat into the barn.
This tells me a few things about evil.
1) There is a real enemy who is trying to spoil the good crop. God planted good seed in this world but He is not the only one planting seed. There is an enemy who is working just as hard to see the crop destroyed.
2) For the time being, it is the good of the wheat to let the weeds stay. This sounds so bizzarre and wrong to my ears but I have learned that they crazier Jesus sounds the more right He is likely to be. What He basically says is, "If I were to eliminate all evil right now, it would hurt good." How? He doesn't say...althought we could speculate. But I trust Him. So for the time being, for our good, evil is permitted to grow(?).
3) Evil is growing. D.A. Carson pointed out something really obvious. Jesus says, "Let both grow together." He is not limiting the growth of the wheat but he is not limiting the growth of the weeds either. Good is growing and getting better. But evil is growing and getting worse. They are both maturing (if I can use that word). They are both becoming more obvisouly what they are and they are getting bigger, stronger and more mature. Let both grow together.
4) Evil's time is limited. Evil just keeps going on as if there is no end. But we know that there will be a definitive end. There will be a time of the harvest. There will come a point when God says, "That's it." And then he will turn the harvesters loose. Evil will be gathered up and destroyed forever and good will be gathered up and taken to paradise with Jesus forever. Evil is temporary. Evil will soon be no more. And when that happens, what a great day it will be.
Ultimately, no one can answer specific questions about evil. "Why was X allowed?" I have no idea. Neither does anyone else. But I do know that X will not be allowed forever, And God will punish all evil. There will come a day when even death is killed and is no more...never to rise again. The enemy will be punished and good will be rewarded.
The one thing that really gives me pause about the POE is this remakable fact. The problem of evil is only asked by scholars and people in comfortable societies. If you go to places of extreme persecution...no one even asks this question. Could it be that we ask it because our perspective is wrong? You be the judge.
Last thought...what's the point of blogging if people don't leave comments on it?
So, what is the problem of evil (POE)? The POE goes something like this.
1) God is all powerful
2) God is all good
3) Evil exists
Some people then go on to say, all 3 of these can't be true. Either God wants to stop evil but He can't and therefore premise 1 is wrong. Or he can and he doesn't; in which case premise 2 is wrong. We all know premise 3 is right so no ones arguing this point. So either God is weak, bad or simply doesn't exist.
There are a billion responses to this. But I want to talk about the one Jesus gives in Matthew. Matthew 13:24-30 24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28 "'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29 "'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"
Jesus later explains the parable this way. He says that the field is the world. The good seed stands for the Sons of the Kingdom (those who receive and respond to the word). But there are other seed. There is an enemy, the Devil who also sows seed in the field. These are the people who receive and respond to his unholy word. In the parable, initially it is impossible to tell which is which. But as time progresses, it becomes evident that there is a problem. The the workers (angels) are outraged. They ask the master, didn't you plant good seed? He assures them that he did and that the weeds (or the sons of the evil one) are the result of the enemy. They then want to rip all the weeds up but they are stopped. The master stops them because in the tearing up of the weeds some of the wheat might be damaged, which is something he refuses to risk. So the order is "Let both grow together until the harvest." Then rip them up and burn the weeds and bring the wheat into the barn.
This tells me a few things about evil.
1) There is a real enemy who is trying to spoil the good crop. God planted good seed in this world but He is not the only one planting seed. There is an enemy who is working just as hard to see the crop destroyed.
2) For the time being, it is the good of the wheat to let the weeds stay. This sounds so bizzarre and wrong to my ears but I have learned that they crazier Jesus sounds the more right He is likely to be. What He basically says is, "If I were to eliminate all evil right now, it would hurt good." How? He doesn't say...althought we could speculate. But I trust Him. So for the time being, for our good, evil is permitted to grow(?).
3) Evil is growing. D.A. Carson pointed out something really obvious. Jesus says, "Let both grow together." He is not limiting the growth of the wheat but he is not limiting the growth of the weeds either. Good is growing and getting better. But evil is growing and getting worse. They are both maturing (if I can use that word). They are both becoming more obvisouly what they are and they are getting bigger, stronger and more mature. Let both grow together.
4) Evil's time is limited. Evil just keeps going on as if there is no end. But we know that there will be a definitive end. There will be a time of the harvest. There will come a point when God says, "That's it." And then he will turn the harvesters loose. Evil will be gathered up and destroyed forever and good will be gathered up and taken to paradise with Jesus forever. Evil is temporary. Evil will soon be no more. And when that happens, what a great day it will be.
Ultimately, no one can answer specific questions about evil. "Why was X allowed?" I have no idea. Neither does anyone else. But I do know that X will not be allowed forever, And God will punish all evil. There will come a day when even death is killed and is no more...never to rise again. The enemy will be punished and good will be rewarded.
The one thing that really gives me pause about the POE is this remakable fact. The problem of evil is only asked by scholars and people in comfortable societies. If you go to places of extreme persecution...no one even asks this question. Could it be that we ask it because our perspective is wrong? You be the judge.
Last thought...what's the point of blogging if people don't leave comments on it?
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