God is in control …

There are mysteries that are paradoxes in life.  And that is by design, we are not meant to understand all things.  This is a difficult thing to accept for most people.  We want to believe we can know it all, discover all things, understand the mysteries of the universe.  But the fact is, we will never have infinite knowledge nor infinite wisdom.  We will always be searching to understand, and to make sense of the great paradoxes we experience in life.  The greatest paradox for me in this life is the reality that mankind possesses free will and God is completely in control at exactly the same time.  One of the hardest concepts for people to wrap their thoughts around is that of their own destiny and the meaning of life.

For the true Atheist, the ones that are completely honest with themselves and others, there can be no meaning to life.  The fact that one could alter one’s own destiny or that one’s life could hold any meaning when the entire Universe is the random product of physical, chemical, and biological laws is completely ludicrous.  Furthermore the idea of karma within the Atheistic model is completely nonsensical.  There is absolutely no foundation for morals, justice, rewards, or punishment.  How can there be?  Everything that is, or is not, is simply a product of the physical and meta-physical laws of the Universe, be they known or unknown.  Everything we encounter is a product of natural occurrences and the ideas of fate, freewill, or a spiritual life are completely foreign.  So the true Atheist really has no ground upon which to argue destiny or the meaning of life.  And by extension, in the Atheistic model there is no concept of fair, there is no right, no wrong, and justice is pure foolishness.  You live, you die, and you have no control over the process while you are a part of it.  Everything is pre-determined so far in the past it can hardly be comprehended and everything will carry so far into the future there is absolutely no hope whatsoever anyone or anything will ever be remembered.

For the Agnostic, those that are completely neutral on an Atheistic or Theistic foundation, it really doesn’t matter if there is a destiny or any meaning to life.  And why would it?  The Agnostic doesn’t care one way or the other.  They are simply along for the ride and whatever will be, will be.  There may, or may not, be a destiny and meaning to life but the Agnostic will not care one way or the other.  To do so would actually move them out of the Agnostic camp and into either the Atheistic or Theistic viewpoint.

And that leaves us with the Theists.  For the Theistic viewpoint, the matter of destiny and the meaning of life is extremely important.  Because it is the bigger picture that counts.  Not just what we see in the here and now, but what is to come and what exists within the Spiritual world.  And it is the Theistic viewpoint that has the hardest struggle with destiny and the meaning of life.  But it shouldn’t.

The Theist really should start with their definition of God.  Consider the base definition for God: as the sole Supreme Being, eternal, spiritual, and transcendent, who is the Creator and ruler of all and is infinite in all attributes; the object of worship in monotheistic religions.  If we were to parse this definition we would quickly realize that God, by definition is the sole – the only one, unique, unsurpassed, matchless, Supreme – highest in rank, authority, paramount, sovereign, chief, foremost, Creator – the one who creates.  And if God is indeed the one and only matchless sovereign Creator, then the Theist is forced to ask the question (as did the Psalmist) who can be compared to God?  Psalm 89:6 “For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?” KJV.  And the only possible answer the Theist is left with is a resounding: “No one can!”  For he is God.  He is the Almighty.  He is the one Supreme Creator who is Infinite in ALL of his Attributes.  The Theist is left with the realization that their God is the one encompassing Deity in all of existence.

And for the Theist, that means that God is in control.  And how could he not be?  He is God after all.  Let’s try and illustrate the point this way, answer the question “Is there any scenario or outcome in all of creation or the Heavens where God could either lose the battle between good and evil or be surprised by the results?”  Let me ask this question, “Is there anything that God does not know about, is not happy with, or cannot change?”  If there is, then he surly is not God.  Everything that occurs is because it is part of God’s great plan and it is just the way he wants it to be.  If it were not, wouldn’t he change it?  Of course he would.

But this creates a dilemma.  If God is completely in control, then what about our, mankind’s Free Will?  Do we not have the freedom to choose our own path?  Of course we do.  God himself says we have a choice.  Revelation 3:20 says “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” KJV.   Does this not sound like a choice?  Of course it does.  We do have choices in life.

But can we ever surprise God with our choices?  No, I don’t think so.  Can we ever make a choice that would alter God’s plan or be a choice that he does not want us to make?  Once again, I would have to say no.

And yet that makes no sense whatsoever.  It is completely and utterly contradictory and cannot be explained.  So what is the explanation?  For today, there is none.  But wouldn’t you rather be a part of the model where God allows you a choice even though he is in control, instead of the model where there is no hope of a choice because we are all simply random matter bumping into each other and are following a set of described laws?

I know I would.  And that is why I absolutely assure you these two things are true:  (1) You have free will and you choose your own destiny in the halls of eternity, and (2) God is completely, absolutely, 100% in control and it is his plan that has been executed, is being executed, and will continue to be executed forever and ever.

Despite your free will and all of the things we see within the world today, GOD IS IN CONTROL …