Now, I personally find myself craving "spiritual food" that has a little more substance then the normal children's Bible study stuff, but in all honesty I find myself taking that baby food one spoonful at a time, as well. I think the reason for my "stunted growth" if you will is because I was so wrapped up in my own torment for nearly 10 years of my life, in the depression, resentment, bitterness and guilt that came along with all of my saddness, that I have forgotten what the food of life had tasted like, and that because I was so used to my other life style that I can't just jump back into eating normal food. You can think of my esperience like this....Let's say there is a baby who eats baby food. They grow up a little everyday learning new things and they get stronger and sooner then later they start eating hardier foods, "solid foods". Well, let's say this baby begins to grow and it grows until it becomes a strong youthful child, but then something happens and this once strong child can no longer get the food and nourishment it needs and begins to wither. Their body begins to weaken, and they begin losing a lot of weight. They get food here and there over time, but it's not enough to sustain them. Weeks, months, years go by like this. This child continues to grow but it is a broken growth. The child grows into a teenager, but instead of a beautiful strong and glorious young adult you see a weathered beaten weak creature before you.
That's how my spiritual life went. I started off strong as a child, but then circumstances got in the way, and without even realizing it I was being deprived of my food source. I was living on almost nothing for 3 years, and then little by little I recieved food. It finally came to a point where it was my decision to receive nourishment, whether my parents realized it or not, and I took it. I could live like that anymore, and now even though I am seen to be wise and intelligent I know how truly weak I am. There are times I have questions that seem like they come from a chlid, but they are questions I have forgotten the answer to. They are morsels of food I haven't tasted since my spiritual childhood. I hope this was a clear analogy. If not I'll write a better one, because it only just hit me that some people might not understand the concept.
Anyway, on to my actual subject. Now, for those of you have grown up in the church, have entered some sort of Bible college or have spoken to a preacher about some sort of life drama or tragedy you might have heard them utter this phrase, "It's all in God's will". Now, I'm sure if you've heard this after a huge tragedy like 9-11 or your own personal tragedy (ex. family memeber's death) you have probably had a few questions about their meaning.
As, I have heard them explain after a moment of outrage by a few people saying, "How can my suffering, their suffering, suffering of anykind be God's will?"
Good question is it not? Well, the preacher/spiritual wiseman/Man of God usually answer with this, "Well, it's not God's perfect will."
?????
I don't know about you, but that didn't really answer any questions I had about what they said. Well, after asking at least a handful of these preachers/wisemen/Men of God I finally met someone who would explain the concept. For some reason, if your a child lets say 4-14 people don't like answer questions that are "beyone your comprehension". (which to me is like a slap in the face cause you just leave me in ignorance instead of at least giving me an overview of what you said. If it's beyond my comprehension why would you use a concept like this in the first place. If your going to speak to a child as if they're a child then please do so from start to finsish.)
Anyhoo, one man finally sat me down and explained they whole concept. (He was my Bible teacher) Apparently, there is a theory, a widely used theory, that God has a "perfect" will, and a "non-perfect" will. Now, they use the story of Creation to show this theory.
God created the universe. When He created the universe He had a "perfect" will for it. That His Creation would live in harmony, love, peace, hope and everything God had in store for them, but due to the fall of man and the entrance of sin into the world Everything was corrupted. God's perfect will was no more, and His "non-perfect" will was born. So the basic idea of God's "perfect" will and his "non-perfect" will is that since God's will was broken so He developed a new will. In this case of Creation, the "non-perfect" will was His sending Jesus on the cross to die for the sins of the world and granting life to us all.
Now I know it's kinda a hard concept to grasp, especially as a "baby christian", but after this explanation it made sense. It's reasonably, it's logical. There are no loop holes, and eventhough it isn't the easiest thing to hear after you've lost a loved one it does overall make sense.
However, If you have ever heard the saying, "God's ways are higher than our ways..." now would be good time to address it. Since I haven't found a scripture that says this principle, granted maybe not in the same wording, I will assume for now that it's not in the Bible. Therefore, it would make this widely used and accepted principle to be "the reasoning of Man".
At first glance that wouldn't be a big deal except the Bible does say this.
"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, 'He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS';
and again,'THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONING of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.' "
-1 Corinthian 3:19-20
So, I'm not saying it's wrong. It could be right, but don't be surpirsed if it's realized one day, even if that day IS in heaven, that it was wrong. Or just a man's attempt to explain one facet of an Almighty, all-knowing God.
So, now that you have read my explanation and my own thoughts, I want to hear yours. So if you are a preacher/wiseman/Man of God who is more familiar with this concept, please don't hesitate to comment. I would love to understand it more, and if you have a verse that supports this principle by all means post it! I'd love to read it.
And if your just a reader who would like to have say or share a personal experience of yours, then please share it with me.
2 comments:
Hmm.. thats interesting.. never heard that before! it sounds plausible, but i'm not convinced. i believe God has one sovreign will. all the suffering and stuff fits into a bigger picture that we can't see, might never see. on the other hand, its not always God causing suffering, its people.. to whom he's granted free will. it wouldn't be free will if he kept changing our minds about every evil thing. and sure, he could destroy the terrorists who attacked the towers before they could do it, but we have to remember that we are all guilty of causing suffering to one another, no matter how small or insignificant in comparison, and would therefore also need to be destroyed.
Yeah. People forget that right and wrong is exactly that, RIGHT and WRONG. SINNER and NON-SINNER. They they don't want to compare themselves with a person who is "evil" in their eyes, even though they have the same basic need, GOD. Just because the circumstances and ideologies are different doesn't make us as humans different.
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