Tag Archives: predestination

Not what God had in store?

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blame God cartoonHerschel Sims is a young man who deserves a chance to get his life back on the right track. A local hero here in Abilene, he led Abilene High to a state championship in 2009. He then went to Oklahoma State and had an excellent freshman year. Then he got in trouble with the law and got kicked out of school. Now he’s at ACU, hoping to play football again. I hope it goes well for him.

In an article in yesterday’s Abilene Reporter-News, Sims made the following statement:

They miss me up there, and I miss them dearly. It just wasn’t what God had in store for me.

Wait a minute! I know that’s a common theological outlook, but surely we can see how ridiculous this point of view is.

God didn’t set young Mr. Sims up to fail. He didn’t lay a trap for him, causing him to forge checks he had stolen from a teammate. This isn’t God’s fault.

It’s not about what God had in store for Mr. Sims. I hope that God will take this mistake and use it to change Sims’ life. God can take man’s sin and bring good out of it.

But God isn’t responsible for that sin. Sorry, Mr. Sims. I’m guessing that God had very good things in store for you. You messed up and missed out on them… as we all have. I hope and pray that you’ll know how to receive the blessings God sends your way in the future. May we all get better at overcoming sin.

Cartoon from The New Yorker (January 16,2012)

The Lord is my alibi, I shall not want

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I remember a Tank McNamara cartoon from about 30 years ago where an athlete was being interviewed. “I didn’t want to drop that pass,” the athlete told the newsmen, “but it was the Lord’s will.” One of the guys’ teammates in the background says, “The Lord is my alibi, I shall not want.”

I was reminded of that listening to George Zimmerman on the news the other day. (And no, I’m not interested in a Martin-Zimmerman discussion; I’m fully convinced that we don’t have enough facts to discuss it intelligently) George said something to the effect of: “I’m sorry about what happened, but it was God’s plan. Who am I to question God’s plan?” The Lord is my alibi…

Along the same line, a friend of mine was counseling a young woman who had discovered that her husband was having an affair. The woman said, “But I know all of this is God’s plan.” My friend reminded her that God would continue to work in her life to bring good out of a bad situation, but by no means was it God’s plan that her husband commit adultery. The Lord is NOT anyone’s alibi.

Humans sin. Humans do things that God doesn’t want them to. God brings forward his overarching plans, but he gives humans the choice to join in with that or not. Back in 2008, I wrote the following:

I believe that God is all powerful and could control absolutely everything that goes on in this world. I also believe just as firmly that He has chosen not to do so. Not everything that happens it what God wanted to happen. He has granted unto men a certain about of free will, and that free will affects history. Look at Jeremiah 26; God says that His actions will be affected by what the people choose to do: “This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the LORD’S house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done.” (Jeremiah 26:2-3) Also, consider that God’s desire is that everyone be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:5). Guess what folks: it hasn’t happened yet, in 2000 years. Why? Because God still allows men to make their own choices.

I’ve seen nothing to make me change my mind. (Or as my friend Ken Cukrowski once told me, “And I agree with me.”)

We have to take responsibility for our choices. We have to accept the responsibility for our lives. God wants to lead us in a certain direction; we can resist that leading and shipwreck our lives or we can accept his leading and enjoy the peace of being in his paths. There will still be suffering and hardships, for this world is a fallen one, but we can say, as the Psalmist says, “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.” (Psalms 73:24)

God has a plan. It just may not involve what’s going to happen this afternoon. Some things, he leaves up to me.

image from Clipart Mojo

I know the plans I have for you

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When it comes to Bible study, I’m a context guy. Annoyingly so. It really bothers me when verses are taken from their context, especially when they are then used to mean something very different than the original meaning.

Jeremiah 29 is a special chapter in the book. Jeremiah, under God’s direction, writes a letter to the exiles in Babylon. Contrary to what other “prophets” had told them, Jeremiah lets them know that their captivity will be a long one. He tells them to settle down, form families and adjust to life in this new land.

Then God gives them a specific timeframe for their captivity and promises for what will happen after that time:

10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

For many a Precious Promises calendar and inspirational poster, Jeremiah 29:11 has become a standalone verse, promising for all time that God is going to do good things for whomever reads it. I’ve been known to say, “Well, if you’re enduring 70 years of captivity in Babylon, then these words would certainly apply to you.” Yes, I can be a bit of a smart aleck.

These words do offer hope. There’s a reminder that even when he punishes us, God still loves us. There’s a reminder that I don’t need to be short-sighted about things, that God’s plans for good can often take a generation or two. There’s a reminder that God ultimately wants to bless us, and that my own rebellion can get in the way of that.

Jeremiah 29:11 is not meant to support chess-board theology, that theory that God is moving humans around like pieces on a chessboard. It does remind remind us that he is present and active in our world, even when 70 years of suffering make us think otherwise.

Am I being too harsh with those who want to use this verse as a promise that God is going to do good things for them all through their life? To me, 70 years is a long time. Few of the people that I hear quote this verse seem to be willing to wait 70 years for those good things God has promised. Or am I misreading both them and the biblical passage?