I have fond memories of hearing Jan's elderly grandfather begin his prayer's with "Lord, we come to you, on this, the praying side of heaven." We also live on this, the "now we know in part" side of heaven.
Until we are on the other side, no human is going to fully understand the interaction between God's sovereignty and free will. We simply have all the knowledge God has decided we need to have.
I thought of the interaction between God's ultimate, wise control and human freedom as I read the story of Jonah again this morning. There is no question that Jonah does not do what God wants. He is a free man and Jonah "ran away from the Lord"; again, "he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord." In the midst of the life threatening Mediterranean storm, the very frightened sailors know that "he was running away from the Lord." Jonah's freedom to disobey God's clear word is emphasized three times.
Nevertheless, the underlying theme of the book is surely God's sovereign control. The Lord "sent a great wind on the sea" that causes a major problem for Jonah's run away trip. When at last Jonah is thrown over board, his next transportation was not his choice. The Lord "provided a great fish to swallow Jonah".
When Jonah receives a second word from the Lord, he is not stupid enough to disobey again. However after preaching faithfully to the hated enemy city of Ninevah, he suspects that God will be gracious and compassionate. Jonah e does not like this one bit. In fact he is so angry and disappointed that God has forgiven Ninevah that he blurts out "Now, O Lord, take away my life for it is better for me to die than to live."He sounds like a bitter spoiled child. God has given him the freedom to think and speak like this.
Yet God in his love attempts to make Jonah come around to his way of thinking and of loving people. God in his sovereignty provides comfort followed by discomfort, all to open Jonah's eyes. "Then the Lord God provided a vine"; "But at the dawn the next day God provided a worm"; finally "When the sun rose, God provided a scorching wind." God is fully in control of the situation.
But Jonah is in control of his own attitude. We are not told how Jonah ultimately responds. He is left, with his free will, to choose whether to take God's compassionate perspective or not.
Until we are on the other side, no human is going to fully understand the interaction between God's sovereignty and free will. We simply have all the knowledge God has decided we need to have.
I thought of the interaction between God's ultimate, wise control and human freedom as I read the story of Jonah again this morning. There is no question that Jonah does not do what God wants. He is a free man and Jonah "ran away from the Lord"; again, "he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord." In the midst of the life threatening Mediterranean storm, the very frightened sailors know that "he was running away from the Lord." Jonah's freedom to disobey God's clear word is emphasized three times.
Nevertheless, the underlying theme of the book is surely God's sovereign control. The Lord "sent a great wind on the sea" that causes a major problem for Jonah's run away trip. When at last Jonah is thrown over board, his next transportation was not his choice. The Lord "provided a great fish to swallow Jonah".
When Jonah receives a second word from the Lord, he is not stupid enough to disobey again. However after preaching faithfully to the hated enemy city of Ninevah, he suspects that God will be gracious and compassionate. Jonah e does not like this one bit. In fact he is so angry and disappointed that God has forgiven Ninevah that he blurts out "Now, O Lord, take away my life for it is better for me to die than to live."He sounds like a bitter spoiled child. God has given him the freedom to think and speak like this.
Yet God in his love attempts to make Jonah come around to his way of thinking and of loving people. God in his sovereignty provides comfort followed by discomfort, all to open Jonah's eyes. "Then the Lord God provided a vine"; "But at the dawn the next day God provided a worm"; finally "When the sun rose, God provided a scorching wind." God is fully in control of the situation.
But Jonah is in control of his own attitude. We are not told how Jonah ultimately responds. He is left, with his free will, to choose whether to take God's compassionate perspective or not.
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