Which automobile should I buy?
Underneath
and shaping many of our concepts about prayer is the notion that there
is a “will of God” laid out for how we actually live our daily lives.
It’s as though God has a chart on his wall that has an exhaustive list
of things outlining how our lives are to proceed. This notion is untrue.
There
is the non-negotiable “will of God” that is determined by his nature
and character [it is not his will to lie or be faithless, for example].
There
is the “contingent” will of God that is nevertheless in accordance with
his non-negotiable will. [He freely wills to create and would be just
as holy and wise if he had chosen not to create; he freely wills to
allow us to sin/obey and in light of our response and how he assesses
that response, he responds within the parameters of his overarching
purpose—compare Jeremiah 18:1-12.]
There is one aspect of the
contingent will of God that is nevertheless in accordance with his
non-negotiable will. It is that he freely wills to have no will [no
specific path laid out that must be followed; no exhaustive list of
decisions he has made for us ahead of time]. He “doesn’t care” which
route we take in specific execution of an attempt to honour him in our
daily living and with our lives as a whole. Of course what violates an
explicit expression of his will for us is not part of that notion.
[We're not to think that in choosing to have no explicit will in these
specific issues that God has (as some put it) limited his sovereignty.
No, his choice to do that is an expression of his sovereignty; it's his
sovereignty in action.]
In this area all kinds of paths are open
to us and none are determined by God in the sense that non-negotiable
expressions of his will are.
Should I take a job in Pittsburgh? Should I marry or remain single, should I marry Liz or Jennifer [presuming either would have me], buy a house or rent, have children or not, bring my elderly mother to my house or give her over to the expertise of a caring nursing home, buy stocks in company X, promote the building of a church building, pursue a medical degree in college or major in law?
Should I take a job in Pittsburgh? Should I marry or remain single, should I marry Liz or Jennifer [presuming either would have me], buy a house or rent, have children or not, bring my elderly mother to my house or give her over to the expertise of a caring nursing home, buy stocks in company X, promote the building of a church building, pursue a medical degree in college or major in law?
There
is nothing in scripture to suggest that God has these things mapped out
for individuals. It’s clear that when he so wills he makes a specific
expression of his will known concerning individuals [Jeremiah, Paul and
so forth]. It’s also clear that he gifts people [via all the
inter-personal relationship realities he has structured for human life]
with this gift or that but he gives them input into how that is worked
out and he gives them the help of many others. [Many a man thought God
called him to be a preacher when everyone else was sure he was kidding
himself. The voice of the church [and sometimes even non-church people]
is one strand of the “voice” of God in the matter. We’re too easily
duped by our desires and current interests and current difficulties so
we should not be too quick to trust our agendas without clear witness.]
Imagine
this. A man comes to God asking him about his taking a job in San
Oblique and he wants to know if it is the will of God. God wants to know
why he’s considering such a thing. They guy says it would be extra
money to give to good works. God thinks that’s a fine thing. The man
admits it has the downside because it would mean he’d be away from the
family more. God sees what he means and says, hmmm. But on the other
hand there’s a little church near there that could use him from time to
time while he’s there and he thinks that’s a good thing. So does God.
But it might not work out too well and the family might experience
financial burdens as well. God thinks that’s a serious consideration and
wishes the man well.
A bit disappointed with divine
well-wishing the man asks, “So you’re not going to help me with this
then?” God says, “I am helping you and have been helping you long before
you prayed about this matter. Who do you think enables you to weigh the
pros and cons and makes you sensitive to my purpose and the lives of
others? I’ve been shaping you and enriching your heart and mind for
years to help you work with such decisions.” But the man says he doesn’t
want to go against God’s will in the matter and God tells him, “That
assumes I have ‘a will’ in the matter; something you have no reason to believe. Relax!”
It was at this point that the man tells God he doesn’t want to make a costly blunder that might work out really bad.
“Oh,” says God, “is that what this is about? You want me to keep you
from getting hurt?” The man admits he did have that in mind; he and his
family. God says, “I thought you came to make sure that you wouldn’t be
violating my will for your life, to make sure that what you were
planning would honour and please me.” The man admits he wants to please
God but that in coming he was particularly asking for protection against
what might be a painful mistake. God said:
“I’m not much into
keeping people from ever getting hurt or making judgment mistakes. I’m
not much into giving people infallible guidance in stocks and bonds and
what is the best automobile to buy—I’m more into giving them a great
heart and a love for me and for fellow-humans. Look this isn’t a
question of good and bad, honourable and dishonourable. It’s a question
of good, better and best. If it were about good and bad we wouldn’t be
having this conversation. Since it’s not about what’s good or bad or obviously
stupid—which is another face of ‘bad’—don’t worry about it. I don’t
care which one you choose because you’re doing it to please me and
either way I’m content because you are wanting to please me so make your
choice and work at it.”
The man says, “So you never have
anything to do with specific issues or give people a nudge in a given
direction about matters such as I’ve raised?”
God says, “Oh I
wouldn’t say that. I reserve the right to make whatever moves I see fit
to make. But you are missing my point. I’m always
nudging people in the direction of good and wise decisions because I’m
always enriching their minds and purifying their desires. I don’t
ceaselessly indicate what people should decide on but I
do ceaselessly shape them so that they can make better, wiser and less
selfish decisions that please me, bless others and themselves. But I
don’t do it by waving a magic wand or pulling strings that I’ve attached
to them. I don't do puppetry or determinism and I'm no Genie of the
lamp.”
The still somewhat disappointed man said, “But I hear
people saying all the time that you made your will known to them on
specific issues” and God said, “Yes, I hear a lot of that myself but
don’t believe everything you hear.”
“Yes, but what about Gideon's
fleece?” the man wanted to know. “Oh, yes, that. You think I approved of
what he did?” God wanted to know. “Have you considered I might have
been tolerating his faith-less response?” He raised the issue of
apostles casting lots to replace Judas and God asked him if he took that
event as normative. God asked him if that was what the NT church
normally did or was Acts 6 not the way such things were normally done
throughout the entire Bible. The man rather liked Gideon’s approach and
God said he didn’t care much for people giving him ultimatums whether
they were Gideon or not. The man said people often pray saying, “Here's
what I am planning to do, Lord, but if you don’t want me to do it put a
stop to it.” God said he heard that a lot but wondered why people would
think it pleased him that they were forcing his hand. He said it was as
if they said, “I’m going to do this on Friday so you’ll need to veto it
before then or I’m taking it that you approve of my purpose.” He said,
“I'm the sovereign God and won’t be boxed in by human agendas or
timetables. People need to have a little modesty.”