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God's Way

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Jeff:
With respect to Ray's LOF series this occurred to me.

Having a choice - the ability to make decisions and choose a path, and not knowing where it will lead - seems like an integral part of God's plan for mankind.  We're all well-versed in the truth about free will and with regard to that, having a choice has to be essential.  It has purpose.

From Ray's LOF 15 paper: Well, actually FROM the Scriptures! But repeated in Ray's paper:

"Where is the wise? Where is the Scribe? Where is the disputer [debater] of this world? Has not God made foolish [Gk: ‘stupid’] the wisdom of this world?" (I Cor. 1:20).

Imagine if God had given us no will at all, or even the ability to make choices - how unfulfilling and boring would that be?  He gave Adam the grand task of naming His creatures.  That must have been difficult, and taken a long, long time.

God seems to have created a universe in which we can explore, and discover. Name the elements, design skyscrapers, and soar across the ocean.  He took great care in providing us with the brain we have, and provides us with countless opportunities to use it.  He made us creative beings, as is His own nature.  He tests us daily and amazing things are accomplished as evidence of His desire to challenge us to learn and grow.

Romans 16:25 (KJV) "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,"

Psalm 104:24 "Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures."

Choices, I think, are very, very, very important.  If there were no consequences as a result of having no will at all, it would be a seriously, pathetic existence.

I think it's obvious that God wants us to stretch our minds, and experience His creation fully.  I've always thought that the universe is comically large.  What I mean by that is that it extends beyond our ability to fully define and even comprehend it. We can get "just so close" to understanding, and when we have a break through, it seems to always lead us to another question, that must then be answered, in order for us to move forward.

God challenges us every day in this mortal experience, through choices, and we need that.

Not having choices would be like being micromanaged at work. I've experienced this and it's simply torture. You want to break free, and soar, and show your abilities the way they're meant to be used, and someone tells you "No. You do it THIS way". It's truly awful and unfulfilling.

God wants us to be fulfilled and choices are a large part of making that happen - but in His way.

Ecclesiastes 5:12 - "The sleep of a labouring man [is] sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep."

It pleases God that we do honest work.

Choices give us purpose, they in part, integrate us with our God, and connect us - with Him who is leading us to salvation.

Proverbs 16:9 ESV "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

That Scripture is perfection (as all is).

Choices - as Ray has told us, so many times.

Ray spent so much time teaching us about free will, choices and causality, that I have to believe that this is something that is utterly essential.

Frankly, I'm so very grateful to God, that I do not have free will, and I thank Him with a full heart that He gives me choices.

"In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who works ALL THINGS after the counsel of His Own will" (Eph. 1:11).

"For OF HIM, and THROUGH HIM, and TO HIM, are ALL THINGS..." (Rom. 11:36).

And that includes the choices He gives us.

Not only does it seem that not having free will is actually a blessing, but also, having choices are an important aspect of our lives. We need choices in order to be fulfilled.

Psalm 107:9 "For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness."

Praise our good and great God.

Jeff :)

Kat:

Hi Jeff, I think you are absolutely right. God made us as inquisitive, reasoning, decision making beings, He wants us to be this way... no 'free' will necessary, we have a will and make choices and learn constantly because of that. It is said that if little children are given a enriched and appropriately stimulating learning environment it helps their brains develop... it seems to be the case for people of all ages as well.

And what an incredible creation our God has given us to learn in, as you were saying Jeff, it is so expansive that we do not know it's end point (if there is one). When you begin to explore, the more you look and investigate the more you find. It is quite mind boggling how huge some of the planets out there are, with new discoveries all the time. Yet in the opposite direction how infinitesimally tiny the microscopic world is and there seems to be constant new discoveries there as well.

I think our marvelous God has shown us a bit of Himself in this creation, the heavens are His artistic pallet that He paints glorious vistas on. And this earth, so very different from all the other planets that we have peeked at... we have the majesty of towering mountain ranges and the delicate beauty of thousands of varieties of flowers. Watching a bird in flight, a cheetah sprite after it's prey, a huge whale breach, etc... all these things are for our delight and to give us that enriched environment to experience this life in.

Then there is the relationships we develop... love is an intense thing, God has given in the hearts of parents an incredible love for their child, that they are willing to go without sleep for several months in order to care for them through the night  ;)

But I can not find enough ways to express how incomprehensibly wonderful our great God is to us, so here is Psalms 8 where David gives his view.

Psa 8:1-9  To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (ESV)

lilitalienboi16:
What's even more mind boggling is that it doesn't stop at the macroscopic, that is, what your eyes can see. There is a whole microscopic world inside and around us. From our individual organelle bound cells to the unicelleular prokaryotic lifeforms that permeate our insides and the world around us, to the unicellular and multicellular fungal life forms, and archea, and... etc... and then beneath it all the intricate workings of molecular substances like proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleaic acids, the likes of which without no singal celled organism, let alone multicellular ones, could exist. And yet even beneath that exist the fundamental units of matter by which the singular addition of a proton completelt alters its behavior to give us the vast array of periodic elements which make up those life giving molecular substances, even air and water. And beneath that... well who knows how small things get but I am in absolute awe of this creation. We look up and outward and things appear infinitly large and yet we look down and inwardly and things appear to get infinitely small. How can this be?

Like you said Kat, it speaks to us about God's own nature, that He is so large and far off so that not even the heavens of the heavens can contain him and then he is so near, The Son of mankind, who knows the very number of hairs on our head! Wow. Its as if He is both Father and Son, both near and far, both containable and incontainable.

He is certainly worthy of our admiration and praise but even moreso of our love in that He loved us first for as david said, who is man that you are mindful of him?

God bless,
Alex

arion:
Knowing all these things it's amazing to me that so many doctors and scientists are atheist's or agnostic.  People of science seeing the intricacies should know and perceive that there is an intelligent design to the creation.  Their outlook of evolution is like taking a box of watch parts and throwing them up into the air and what lands on the ground is a fully assembled and functioning wind up pocket watch.  Truly the fool has said in his heart 'there is no God'.   

Dave in Tenn:
To be fair, their outlook on evolution is not at all like you've described. 

There may be a lot of reasons why so many scientists are atheists.  To me, it boils down to one:  they know of no God which hasn't been presented to them by priests, theologians, Sunday School teachers, and traditions.

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