This post is the third of a series of posts about the concept of free will and God’s will. Each post will contain a thought related to the larger discussion of God’s Will & how it relates to us. 

First of all, please feel free to go back & read the first & second posts of this series before you continue because the thoughts will continue directly from those posts. Did you do it? NO!??! Go do it. Now? OK…

We’ve established two things thus far when it comes to God’s will. First is that God’s will is more of a game plan than a pure instruction manual. His Will for us is to be like Jesus in all circumstances whatever they are. Secondly, we established that sometimes there are no black & white answers when wondering if you should do something or not. For example, should I stay home & work for God or go to Madagascar & work for God? The answer is yes, therefore the question is not is one or the other God’s will. It is God’s will for you to work for Him; how & where can be up to you.

Many people aren’t comfortable with that idea however. While it’s true that God is an omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere), & omnipotent (all-powerful) being that is in control of this world, we get hung up on the idea of control, or rather what exactly that means. Especially when it comes to certain subjects like pain & suffering. Especially pain & suffering.

The Challenge

The problem a lot of people have, and not just atheists mind you, is if God is indeed omniscient, omnipresent, & particularly omnipotent, why would He let a world continue, let alone create one, in which there was such pain & suffering? And even if He would, why isn’t He doing anything about it?

There is a trinity of problematic statements that sum up the problem.

God is all-powerful therefore He can do anything He wants. 

God is all-loving and loves His creation immeasurably and intensely. 

Evil is a reality and suffering is a part of every part of creation. 

You can easily see the contradiction. Power and love usually leads to action to rid whatever is loved of any pain & suffering. That’s what Disney & most fairy tales we’ve grown up hearing has trained us to think. So this can start to lead us down some interesting thoughts when it comes to God.

If God is indeed all-loving but there’s suffering, He must not be powerful enough to stop it. 

If God is indeed all-powerful, He must not be willing to stop it. 

If God is indeed unwilling to stop it, He must not be all-loving. 

If God is not all-loving, perhaps its best to not believe in such vindictive and uncaring God. 

If presented with these arguments what would you say? I’d like to offer three thoughts to help us navigate these stormy waters.

Knowledge

I’ve three children (soon to be four actually). The oldest is 14 followed by 3 & 1. I’m constantly struck not only by the differences in their decision making, but also by the similarities. Though they’re about different things, many of the choices they both make that go against their mother & I’s wishes are due to their lack of experience & knowledge. My three year old doesn’t quite believe that he needs to go to bed when we say, and my fourteen year old believes herself quite ready to leave the house and be on her own although she’s no inclination of what insurance is, credit scores are, or the difference between a PPO & HMO plan.

In both cases Amy & I do know more about all of those obviously because we’ve been around a bit longer and had to directly deal with all of those situations and whereas not only have neither of them been around long enough to encounter all of the ends and outs of their respective challenges, but they’re not necessarily even ready to fully comprehend everything about them (even some adults don’t understand PPOs…).

This first thought is not the most empathetic, but just because we can’t think of any reason for pain & suffering doesn’t mean there isn’t one. While it may seem incomprehensible to us who do not have the slightest glimpse of eternity that there may yet be a reason & purpose for suffering we must realize that we’re comparing what we know with what God knows. Scripture promises in Romans 8:28 that all things will work out for the good of those who love God & are called according to His purpose. That means that God in His wisdom can make all things, even the horrible things, still work out for some form of good. It also means that He has the big picture in mind when He allows suffering.

For example it may seem horrible & uncaring that a young child may die from cancer, but what if somehow we could trace that child’s father finding God through his grief, influencing his other children to rely on God that then influence their children to be godly and so on. Through that one experience of suffering & the response that came from it, what if one of the man’s great-grandchildren becomes president of the United States, a godly president at that? Would that have happened had not the child died? It’s only a limited & incomplete example, but keep in mind that whatever pain & suffering we go through or witness now is not the end of the story, but part of God’s good is how He can use those who have gone through it to still show His glory and be His will. Just because we can’t imagine why suffering could ever be good doesn’t mean it can’t, especially with the God we love & serve. Indeed many have come to Christ not through good times, but through witnessing the response of Christian men & women who have faced death with hope & joy and wondered how they could do that.

The apostles & disciples who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion couldn’t imagine how their Savior could be now nailed upon a cross, nor could imagine a future after they buried He who they thought the Christ. But three days later, in God’s infinite knowledge & plan, their trust in God prevailed, and we still 2000 years later are eternally grateful for God working in ways we couldn’t fathom.

Next post we’ll delve into the next two thoughts concerning the challenge of pain & suffering, choice & love, then delve into other areas of evil, pain & suffering, God’s control of the world, and what they tell us about God’s will for our lives. Stay tuned! Grace to you.

This post is the second of a series of posts about the concept of free will and God’s will. Each post will contain a thought related to the larger discussion of God’s Will & how it relates to us. 

Being vs. Doing

Assuming that a good first view of God’s will is of a being nature, what about all the verses that talk of doing God’s will? There’s a lot of them, for example a well known one in Matthew 6:10 which says Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, or a few verses later in Matthew 7:21-23, which reads “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ I”ll use these two as a base for many verses like them.

It’s easy to read these verses and get caught up in what we do, but we must not have a narrow focus on things which demand a bigger scope, nor must we become selective in things which by nature are broad. Here’s what I mean by this.

Let’s take a verse that doesn’t speak directly about God’s will, but it does – Matthew 28:16-20, focusing on verses 19-20 which says Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. It doesn’t specifically say this is God’s will, but it very much is God’s will that people are saved and those who have been saved go and tell others of what’s happened to them. Notice what Jesus commands to be done – go, make disciples, baptizing them, teaching. Did you also notice what He didn’t say? 

He didn’t say when to go.

He didn’t say how to go.

He didn’t say where specifically to go.

He didn’t say how to teach.

He didn’t say a lot of things. Why? Because sometimes details are inconsequential to the principle issues. The verb go in Greek written in a way that basically says as you’re going do this & that. As you’re going to wherever you’re going, make disciples.

Does this include Tanzania? Yep.

Does this include going by boat to Madagascar? Yep.

Does this mean in my own state? Yep.

Does this mean in my own backyard? Absolutely.

However you can think about going where there are people, it applies.

Principles: The Big Life Picture

Many people want to carry this out, but get hung up on the details of if, how, when, why, etc… Here’s the thing: to ask, “Is going to Zanzibar God’s will or is it that I should stay here?” is a self-defeating question in more ways than one. It creates a false conflict and ignores the bigger principles of God’s will for us.

Is it God’s will that you go to Zanzibar and make disciples? Yes, but it’s also God’s will that you stay where you are and do that same thing! Matthew 5 tells us we’re to be lights in the world – wherever we are! Should I take care of orphans in Malawi? YES, but you should also take care of any where you are now! To understand God’s will as a state of being & living first makes these debates seem silly. Should I go be a Christian here or there or there? Yes! To be like Jesus anywhere & wherever we go & are are the first principles of God’s will, and arguably the most important aspect of it. Consider Romans 12:1-2 which says I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

What is the will of God? What is good, acceptable, & perfect for God! This is why reading Scripture is so important, particularly the Gospels. Why the Gospels? We’re to transform into Jesus by the renewing of our mind of who Jesus is, how He acts, & what He does. Is serving the societal poor good, acceptable, and perfect? Yes, Jesus did. Is loving even in the face of persecution? Yes, Jesus did. Is traveling to another country to serve & spread the gospel good? Yes, Paul, who said to imitate him as he imitated Christ, did. You see what I’m getting at? You can be God’s will wherever & whenever you are. To get hung up on these questions of “if it’s God’s will or not?” is missing the bigger principle that we ARE God’s will, and that has to be true wherever & whenever we’re going…anywhere!

Choices, Choices, Choices

I’m making such a big deal about this because its essential to understanding the other questions of free will, God’s sovereignty, &  how God works in us. The question one might have from this is, “OK fine, I am God’s will, but how do I decide to go somewhere or do something? If I go and something happens is that God trying to tell me something?” How to make godly choices, & the beginnings of how that interacts with God’s carrying out of His will is what we’re cover next time.

I’ll end with a quote from Paul to the Corinthian church out of 2nd Corinthians 3:2-3- You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. As you go today – to Walmart, to the post office, to the park, remember that being like Jesus all the time, wherever we go, is the true marker of the church, & truly God’s will for each of us. Grace to you.