What It's All About

After posting my entry yesterday, bb entered this comment: “Listening to the young Amish women say what I hear all the time, about their time to go, I have trouble with that. I cannot believe a loving God has a horrible end in store for children. Be it cancer or murder.I wish someone could explain that to me.”

This is, of course, one of the perplexities of life. If we knew everything that is in the mind of God and fully understood Him, we would BE God. But I would like to write what I understand to be Biblically true about this issue.

This outlook, "It was their time to go..." etc. is a fatalistic outlook for people who do not consider themselves "believers", and for those who do, it is a belief that God is totally and constantly sovereign. I am in neither of these camps. I do believe in the sovereignty of God. But not in this sense. Here are my beliefs in regard to this.

God knows the end from the beginning. He is not taken by surprise. And in many ways He prepares us for these things. But we are in a world where He has given man "free will". And since Adam, sin and death and grief have entered the world. People "make choices." God did not make the choice for this to happen. But God IS a just and loving God. He will bring grace (obviously has), comfort, solace and healing to these people. Jesus said: "In this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world."

If God had “planned or willed” this to happen, these people would need to forgive God, not the man. But HE is the one who chose to do this horrible act. When we speak of “man’s free will” we are not only speaking of his freedom to be and do and live in certain ways as a being on this planet. That “free will” gives people the ability to choose good or evil. God does not choose or ordain evil. But for this “season” we are in, he will not prevent it from taking place, when someone chooses it.

There will come a day when all this will be different, and in THIS, God IS totally sovereign. He is sovereinly in charge of the “outcome of the story”. HIStory… but that is another subject.

But for now, this is a big part of what our lives are all about. To choose good and not evil in our daily lives. To understand the difference. And to do whatever we can to promote this in our world.

God once said to his people in the days of Moses: “This day I have set before you life and death. Now, therefore choose life, that both you and your children may live.”

In this horrible situation, someone else chose death. But that is NOT the end of the story. Remember? “…I have overcome the world!” (Jesus Christ)