If every semester was to be given a title, as of now, this semester would be Loss. My grandma passed away at the beginning of the semester, one of my friends lost her little baby and I lost the man I thought I was going to marry in the middle, and now my aunt is on the verge of death. Every heartbreak reminds me of the last.
I was talking to a dear friend this afternoon, a man that I consider to be a second father to me. He brought up James 1, which is usually brought up in times like this: Consider it pure joy my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. So, as I do, I looked up the Greek. The word "perseverance" [hypomone] means a steadfast endurance.
I'm guilty; last night, I laid on my bed asking God to deliver me. And yet, it is here, under the fire where we are refined. This word, [hypomone] may be one of the most important words in the New Testament. Through the [hypomone] of Christ, we are offered salvation. Through the [hypomone] of the apostles, the Word was spread throughout the world. What will God do with my [hypomone] if I change my attitude to allow Him?
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
God's Sovereignty
I know I haven't written in awhile...but what's new when it comes to me?
There are many thoughts rushing through my head, too many feelings to be able to decipher them all: loss, love, empathy, doubted hope, stress, relief, exhaustion...my heart is a paradox, and I'm stuck in the middle of it.
So maybe it's not strange that it's at this moment, I wrestle with the Sovereignty of God. Don't get me wrong: I whole heartedly believe that God is utterly Sovereign. Let me define: God's Sovereignty is everything that it means to be God. He has absolute power over all things. There is nothing that opposes or restrains His power but God Himself. Only God can restrain God. He is the Master Creator that needs nothing outside of Himself to fulfill Him. God is also the Ultimate Good. To say that He is the standard of goodness is not good enough in itself. God transcends creation. We are in error when we suppose that He is simply greater man, when we project ourselves on the frame of God. He is completely other than His creation. There is nothing that compares and no metaphor that can be used...God is simply God, and there is no Other. God cannot be corrupted, He cannot be thwarted.
But sin, O wretched sin, which tears us from the face of the Almighty. How I long to be unrestrained by this corruption that threatens to swallow me whole. Every fiber of my being has been corrupted by sin since birth. "All creation groans under the weight of sin...and longs for the day when the sons of righteousness will be revealed," for on that day, "He will wipe away every tear and there will be no more night."
So how do we find the Sovereignty of God in the midst of sin? I know the arguments: Lewis, Anselm, Augustine; and yet, I struggle. I understand how God can still be Sovereign in the midst of sin but I don't always understand how he uses sin. I can understand Romans 1: Because of the lack of the knowledge of God, He has given man over to his degrading passions and they have received the due penalty of his error, but what about in Deuteronomy? In a way, God telling the Israelites that when they turn away they will be plagued and go through famine is another "due penalty of their error." But is this how it works?: Colossians tells us that in Christ, all things hold together and have their being. If God were to remove His hand, all things would simply cease to be. He spoke the world ex nihilo and with one word, He could return it thus. So is the famine, the sickness and disease God allowing "atoms" to slip through His fingers? As with Job, God allowed Satan to cause sickness, death etc., but still retained His Sovereignty.
Here's my consensus: When the knowledge of God fails, so does the heart. God allows bad things to happen to good people through the Divinity of His will, but when all is said and done, the heart of one who truly seeks the knowledge of Truth will find God, and He that finds God truly, though the world falls into corruption and despair, will soar on the wings of faith in obediance to He who has dominion over all things.
Praise be to God
There are many thoughts rushing through my head, too many feelings to be able to decipher them all: loss, love, empathy, doubted hope, stress, relief, exhaustion...my heart is a paradox, and I'm stuck in the middle of it.
So maybe it's not strange that it's at this moment, I wrestle with the Sovereignty of God. Don't get me wrong: I whole heartedly believe that God is utterly Sovereign. Let me define: God's Sovereignty is everything that it means to be God. He has absolute power over all things. There is nothing that opposes or restrains His power but God Himself. Only God can restrain God. He is the Master Creator that needs nothing outside of Himself to fulfill Him. God is also the Ultimate Good. To say that He is the standard of goodness is not good enough in itself. God transcends creation. We are in error when we suppose that He is simply greater man, when we project ourselves on the frame of God. He is completely other than His creation. There is nothing that compares and no metaphor that can be used...God is simply God, and there is no Other. God cannot be corrupted, He cannot be thwarted.
But sin, O wretched sin, which tears us from the face of the Almighty. How I long to be unrestrained by this corruption that threatens to swallow me whole. Every fiber of my being has been corrupted by sin since birth. "All creation groans under the weight of sin...and longs for the day when the sons of righteousness will be revealed," for on that day, "He will wipe away every tear and there will be no more night."
So how do we find the Sovereignty of God in the midst of sin? I know the arguments: Lewis, Anselm, Augustine; and yet, I struggle. I understand how God can still be Sovereign in the midst of sin but I don't always understand how he uses sin. I can understand Romans 1: Because of the lack of the knowledge of God, He has given man over to his degrading passions and they have received the due penalty of his error, but what about in Deuteronomy? In a way, God telling the Israelites that when they turn away they will be plagued and go through famine is another "due penalty of their error." But is this how it works?: Colossians tells us that in Christ, all things hold together and have their being. If God were to remove His hand, all things would simply cease to be. He spoke the world ex nihilo and with one word, He could return it thus. So is the famine, the sickness and disease God allowing "atoms" to slip through His fingers? As with Job, God allowed Satan to cause sickness, death etc., but still retained His Sovereignty.
Here's my consensus: When the knowledge of God fails, so does the heart. God allows bad things to happen to good people through the Divinity of His will, but when all is said and done, the heart of one who truly seeks the knowledge of Truth will find God, and He that finds God truly, though the world falls into corruption and despair, will soar on the wings of faith in obediance to He who has dominion over all things.
Praise be to God
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