Friday, March 10, 2023

 

Friday, March 10, 2023


Psalm 25

Genesis 45:1-15

Luke 14:1-14


“...God sent me…”


There is a curious paradox in the Bible; a tension, between God’s sovereignty and human agency. A very good example is how Jesus handles Himself during the events leading up to His crucifixion, particularly in John’s Gospel. Jesus goes along with His arrest, trial, torture and execution as the one in charge; indeed, He has to remind the cowering mob that they are meant to arrest Him.


Let’s immediately get out of the way the idea that this paradox needs resolving. Especially because we must affirm against Molinism and other ridiculous man-made philosophies that seek to explain how the Divine Will cooperates with, directs, and yet still holds humans responsible for their actions. It is like trying to explain the Trinity: anything we can compare it with ends up running into heresy.


Just like how we are to approach the Trinity, we should approach our interaction with God’s free will as a relationship to be entered, rather than a problem to be solved. And this is because we can only speak of God as far as the Bible speaks.


Nothing is outside of God’s control, and God is only capable of good things for those who love Him. Therefore, when life looks dark and grim, God is working events out in such a way that we will always come out the other side better than before.


Joseph gives us a taste of this radical new way of looking at the world and interpreting the events in our lives. Instead of harbouring resentment in his heart, he looks at his brothers, and sees the opportunity God has given him to love his brothers more than he ever could have before. This is what makes the Christian life an adventure story: we are pitted against foes that we are able to overcome with our weapons of love and faithfulness, and we escape out of the gloomy forest stronger and braver than if we had never left the safety of home.



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