Monthly Archives: February 2009

sovereignty… why we always don’t get what we want

In Christianity there seems to be a paradox between the importance of God’s sovereignty and the importance of man’s free will. Before I continue, I just want to emphasize that this will not be a treatise or a research paper or any form of academic work on the topic. I am merely giving some views about the practicality of both God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. I know people who have done great works on the subject and if you want a detailed academic work, then there are resources… this blog is not one, but I hope it is somewhat insightful.

Now to proceed…  I am learning that I can never take for granted the sovereignty of God in my life. He is so supreme and transcendent above me that to feel like my own free will somehow trumps His sovereignty is not only foolish, but dangerous. For one, God is going to accomplish what we wills to accomplish… with or without me. His work will come to an end one day and those who were not a part of His work will perish and those that were will have life everlasting. Sovereignty means that He is in total control of all affairs of life. This is somewhat puzzling to us as humans because if God is in control then why is there evil, or suffering, or anything that is contradictory to the character of God.

Well, first we have to remember that we are not God. We cannot explain everything. What we can do is realize that it was because of man’s free will that there is evil and suffering in the world; because of this, God allows those things to happen. He could at any moment remove all evil and suffering and pain from this broken world, but He has allowed it to occur because of the abuse we have made with the gift of free will. Realize that one day, God will make all things right and evil, pain, suffering, and all that is wrong with this world will be eridicated.

I have learned that there are things I don’t have in my life right now (e.g.– a wife, a house, a career, etc.) because God does not want me to have those things now, God’s blessings come in His time and not my time. God has also told me that I need to focus on my abundance and not my lack; and for that matter, who says I am lacking anything. God is sufficient and He has given me all I need and He will choose to give me more because of His sovereignty and not my own selfish motives. So I have come to rely on the sovereignty of God more than ever, it is what has brought me out of my pain and suffering and the valleys I went through not too long ago. I am trying to right some wrongs I have with my relationship with Christ, my relationships with others, and with myself. All I know is that if God knows when a sparrow falls, how much more does He know and care when I fall.

Well, He cares enough to pick me up and get me on my way– on the path with Him, embracing His sovereignty daily…

transparency (i want to see you)…

It is said that we look on the outside of a person, but God looks at the heart.

This is a statement that has seemed to be ingrained in my memory for the longest time. I cannot understand sometimes how God would want to see me for who I am. Why would God want to see the inside when it can be so ugly, depressing, and vulnerable. Today in this world we are all about appearance. The outside of ourselves, the material body, is what becomes the only thing that matters. It’s like we are machines and we have no soul or spirit that is connected with something besides this world, the cosmos.

This is the belief system that is being promoted in all areas of society, that we are nothing besides the stuff (the matter of the universe) and there is nothing beyond the physical. The pernicious lie is that man is basically good and that their is no evil in him. That if one self-actualizes himself then he can become who he should be. Sounds good but the consequences are huge. It leads to emptiness, resentment, and pain. You can’t be who God wants you to be through your own endeavors. Man is not good, man is evil because man chose evil. If man was good and there is evil, then how does evil exist? And if man is good then is there evil at all? Well any reasonable person knows that evil does exist. Man is the one who does evil things. God didn’t create evil because God is not evil and he cannot create or do something against his nature. It is because of man’s free will to choose to bring evil in the world that it exists.

So let’s get transparent about our lives. We are nothing without God, nothing without Jesus Christ. Man is valuable only because he is created in the image of God (imago dei). If there is no God, then man is worthless and man has no purpose. Then evil is really in the end just an outworking of the natural process of evolution. But evolution as we know it (Darwinism) is faulty and at worst completely false. There is design in the world and design constitutes a Designer. So stop covering up your life with being fake, be yourself through the power of Christ. Die to your self, its desires, its passions; and take up the cross and earnestly follow Him. If you want to know true reality, true life, life the way it is intended to be— be transparent! Let Christ live through you and let others see Christ in you…