When I write on Mondays, I want to talk about our state of being, and how we are meant to live. Society and culture everywhere lack some or other of what God calls us to. There is so much glory and goodness awaiting us! I’ve posted here and here about being in awe, and here you can find more background.
Before continuing any further, it is necessary to discuss sovereignty itself.
What is sovereignty? It means that God is in control of everything that happens, and it’s all for the purpose of His glory, and therefore also our good (the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose – Romans 8:28). This brings to mind so many questions concerning spiritual things but also earthly things, and sometimes a fusion of the two; here, I think of the problem of evil. That, however, is a topic for another time and page, but most certainly is worth our thought, discussion, and prayer. We do know that God works all things for good. We also know that He establishes our steps (Proverbs 16:9) and has chosen us for a purpose.
Furthermore, sovereignty means that God can do whatever He wants (Psalm 115:3). And He does. Romans 9 explains that Jacob and Esau were, before their birth, predestined by God for certain things, though they themselves had obviously taken no action yet, good or bad. It was done so that “God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of Him Who calls” (v. 11). The chapter goes on to explain that this demonstrates no injustice in God’s character. Rather, it is up to Him to have mercy or not. And we, the created, have little room to berate or challenge our Creator – what right have we over Him? It is He Who has the right to choose us for whatever purpose He wills.
Even for me, this is a hard truth to swallow; we have this idea of fairness, developed over time and influenced by society, and it has led us to believe we deserve certain things and are entitled to “rights.” Honestly, though, this is foolish. (Clarification: I am not talking about rights to protect people from governments and one another. I am referring to rights we demand and think we deserve from God and others out of our self-centered perspective. This could include going to college, a new car, financial provision, health, or even salvation. None of them are deserved or can be earned – they are all gifts from God.) Verses 22-23 say, “What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory…?”
Do you see, friend? I just think we have things all muddled. We have been led to believe, and have readily deceived ourselves to think, that God wants to do things for us, and that is why He created us and loves us and died for us. We think the Gospel is just saying, “Jesus loves me.” We’re a bit like all the people who gave Galileo a hard time for claiming that the earth is not the centre of the universe. We can’t fathom a reality that doesn’t revolve around ourselves. Muddled is too mild of a word – we are depraved. We have twisted things and gone along with the devil’s twisting of things, and we ourselves are twisted. We have the breath of God in our lungs, and we use that breath for ourselves alone. We have His strength in our body, and we serve ourselves. We have His creativity in our minds, and we use it for devious, selfish ends. We have attempted to wrest from God His sovereignty, making ourselves lords of our lives. And in so doing, we have shown ourselves unfit for sovereignty; it does not become us.
We are trying to take hold of that which is too great for us. The Potter has carefully, wonderfully fashioned us on His wheel, and now we want to kick Him off His chair and put Him on the wheel instead. How absurd! It’s laughable. That is, we are laughable in our efforts to dethrone Almighty God, making ourselves idols, gods of our lives. And those efforts are to our shame.
By all means, we should ask questions and seek answers, give deep thought to our beliefs and to the claims of Scripture. But let us not entertain a rebellious spirit that leads us to think we know better than God, Who created our minds and all knowledge.
I should note here that I speak to myself as I write, for how could I point out these errors in others without doing so with myself? For my part, I try to control my life. I am guilty of planning my days the way I choose and allotting my time in the manner I see fit. I so often fail to “walk with [Him] in holy trust, responding to [His] initiatives rather than trying to make things fit [my] plans” (Young, Jesus Calling, p. 117). I make an idol of control.
I will write later of entitlement; I think I have said enough for now. Suffice it to say that no one can contend with God. Moreover, no one will know Him unless He calls them. John 6:44 says, “No one can come to Me unless drawn by the Father Who sent Me; and I will raise that person up on the last day.” He has the final authority.
So then, what is our responsibility? If God takes care of all things and rules all things, what is there to try for, and why should we seek righteousness through faith (Romans 9:30-32)? For example, Philippians 2:12 instructs us to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling,” yet the very next verse tells us that “it is God Who works in [us], both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” There is here an integration of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. I have struggled hugely with this, finding it very difficult to reconcile the concepts that 1) we must believe to be saved, yet 2) only God saves us. Paradox returns to us in full, perplexing force.
Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of heaven make it clear that our actions matter; they do not save us, but they demonstrate the condition of our hearts. Our responsibility is to follow as God leads. He has provided us with instruction on how to do so, and He guides us throughout our lives. It seems that the salvation in Philippians 2 refers not to eternal life and rescue from sin and condemnation, but to a deliverance from disobedience, from failing to follow Christ’s example of humility in the preceding verses. Another word for this might be sanctification. Therefore, we are to grow in discipline and holiness, and, verse 13 reminds us, this happens through God’s grace and power. We are dependent, like it or not, on God. Our lives should reflect this integration of our role and God’s role, with the knowledge that our role is futile without Him.
If you’re like me, you sometimes think all this and then again ask the question, “But how can God command and expect me to obey when God could control my ability to do so?” This is hard. And at this point, I find I have to return to Romans 9, recalling that He is the Lord. He has given me the grace and revelation to understand that and believe it, and it follows, in my mind, that my Creator knows more than I do, just as I know more about the world and life and its meanings than a meal I’ve cooked or a painting I’ve made. And though I am made in God’s image, in some ways God is even more different from me than I am from my work, because He created out of nothing, and I, His creation, also use His creation to create. I am so unoriginal. I cannot possibly take nothing and make something. I am therefore willing to acquiesce to my God, Who knows more and can do more than I can possibly imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
His sovereignty touches everything in my life and in yours, regardless of our acknowledgement of it. For those who can and do acknowledge it, let us not remain unchanged. Let us work out our discipline, our growth, our sanctification, through His grace, so that we may play a small part in making known the riches of His glory.
.
How then, shall we be?
small.