God’s will vs. Our actions

I try not to share too many devotional thoughts that God is using to teach me on here, because I know that kind of thing can get old fast. But sometimes I can’t help it. 

Lately, the idea of predestination vs. free will keeps popping up in conversations and books I am reading. Please know that I am in no way an expert on this topic, but I do think about it and wrestle with it, like most followers of Jesus. I am not an intellectual, and compared to many am pretty simple-minded, but I am proud of how God uses that and still gives me insights into his ways. So hopefully, someone will be encouraged by my thoughts. Like a lot of controversies or debates, I usually fall somewhere in middle, and I do on this one. 

I don’t know if you know this about Ryan yet, but he loves analogies, and the analogies God gives him often encourage me. I think it comes from both his passion for intellectual pursuits but also his passion to communicate in ways that anyone can understand. This is important to me too, probably because it helps me understand! But he was given the analogy that God’s will is like a play in which he is the director. There is a master script that contains what is going to happen, but we are all individual actors in the play who bring our own individual ideas and improvisation to our roles. We each have a part to play and even though God knows what we are going to do, he also gives us the freedom to embrace or reject our roles. 

I don't think so

So, do I believe in predestination, yes. Do I believe in free will, yes. Am I allowed to believe in both, I don’t know? But for now I would like to have my cake and eat it too. And for those who know me, you know that I really love cake. I also wanted to share a small excerpt from a book I am reading that helped reinforce my thinking. 

    "We are not mere mortals, with a chance beginning and a chance ending and a flurry of pointless activity in between. We are meaningful players in a cosmic drama, intended to know that more is going on beyond what we can see. God has 'set eternity' in our hearts, and although we cannot fathom 'what God has done from the beginning to the end' (Eccles. 3:11), we sense that the events of life are heading somewhere and that we can either get on board or stay seated on the bench. 

    God has placed his Spirit in charge of directing the story and equipping the players for their parts. By his decision, writing a few books was included in my script. I am free to pursue other interests or to cooperate. If I cooperate, I am lifted up into the stream of his purposes, and my yearning to be a part of eternal things is satisfied. I become one with my destiny." — Connecting by Larry Crabb

So I am comforted. Both in the reality that God is in complete control of all things, and also in the reality that he is not a puppet master pulling our strings. I also know though, that I find my life’s greatest freedom and fulfillment only when I am embracing my role in his cosmic drama. Each day is another chance to do that more and more or less and less. A great privilege and responsibility… praise the Lord.