You find out amazing things about God at night. I've been thinking it's like an eclipse. An eclipse isn't bad, right? But it would be if the sun never came back, as was the fear of the proverbial native. We like lots of day, but when we get an eclipse every once in a while it is really cool!
Did you know that during an eclipse we learn something about the sun that we would never know if not for the eclipse; if not for the fact that the moon is in the exact position that it is, that it is the exact size that it is, that it is the exact distance from the sun that it is? During a complete solar eclipse is the only time we are able to view the sun's corona. Scientists get really excited about this and they could tell you a lot about all the amazing stuff they learn from this phenomenon. Well, this reminds me about how I learn special things about God in the darkness. . . maybe even about God's crown, hum.
Anyway, this is what I was thinking about today as a result -- Choice. We have choice because we have free will. However, the choice is not really between good and evil. Even though there is, in a sense, good and evil, to us good and evil appear to be a certain way because of our limited perspective. To God everything appears differently because he is all knowing and outside of time and space.
The choice for us is between justice and mercy. Because, in the end, we do not instruct God about what is good and evil. He instructs us. Regardless of what you think or deem to be good or evil. It does not matter in the end, right? You will be forced by the consequences to accept the will of God, if there is a God, right? So if God says, "White is black, black is white." You say, "Yes, boss!" Right?
It doesn't matter if you say, "I know God is good and I choose the good." What is THE good? If you are standing there at the end and God says, "This thing that you thought was good, you know that? Well, that was, in fact, not good. This thing that you call evil, you know what I am talking about? Well, I call it good."
What will your choice be then? Justice or mercy?
It's appropriate that I would read this at dinner time, Ember, because this post has a lot to chew on.
ReplyDeleteIt totally resonates with me when you say that things can appear good or evil, that aren't necessarily so, due to our limited perspective. How many times have I desperately desired an outcome that seemed so good to me, but then when I got what I wanted, I realized it wasn't such a good thing after all? Or fought and fought against an outcome, and then later on I think is the best thing that ever happened to me?
About any specific thing, I have opinions of course, but really, what do I know? Not much compared to the spirit "which searches everything, even the depths of God." The best I can do is search out and follow the fruits of the Spirit. That's why I talk about fruit so much!
This post is meaningful to me because I think it points towards a struggle that is common to all people - the struggle to understand how can God be good when horrible things are allowed to happen? Why would God create people with free will and give them the ability to ultimately fail and suffer? At least I have struggled with these thoughts in my life. I have come to terms with these questions by choosing to believe that God is all good, even in His allowance for our ability to fail. Once I decided to believe that, I was able to trust God and His plan for me.
ReplyDeleteProverbs 1:7 has been helpful for me to meditate upon in this: "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (or understanding)..." To me, this means that if I place God's will for me in the highest place in my life, then it will lead me down the path of understanding. Whereas, if I place my own will first, it will lead me to confusion, and falsehood. In fact, whenever I feel confused, it is now a sign to me that I am not submitting my will to God in some way and that I have more work to do on my own character. I am so grateful that God continues to shine a light on the darkest places in me, and allows me to feel confusion and suffering so that I can draw closer to him in this way.
I don't believe that God requires us to choose between justice and mercy, because since God is all good, he would only require us to choose what is good - both justice and mercy together.
@Querci, I hear ya!
ReplyDelete@TStupar
Thank you for your input. I'm thinking about what you said here, "Whereas, if I place my own will first, it will lead me to confusion, and falsehood. In fact, whenever I feel confused, it is now a sign to me that I am not submitting my will to God in some way and that I have more work to do on my own character." I think I understand what you are saying, but I don't think that things have to necessarily be like that and I don't view things this way myself. I think that some people just simply, in sincerity of heart, say, "I only want to do God's will." And they don't worry much about understanding everything through the mind. So, they may not feel confusion about their actions, but rather, only think that they do not have ALL the relevant information to make it understandable. This way of being, to me, seems to be a kind of freedom, i.e., to know that you are doing fine as long as you are only trying to do the right thing, i.e., to do God's will; to love one another as he loves us. And we can know that any mistakes that we make will be minor because of our love. As it is written,
"The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers. Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins."
(1 Peter 4:7)
About having a choice between justice and mercy, you said that you think, "he would only require us to choose what is good." And I believe that to be true as well, however, we can be mistaken about what we think is good. I'm saying that if there was a dispute about what is "good" in the end, the final word and say would be with God, right? So, if you were to die right now and be before God (and I know that you do not believe yourself to be perfect as you are), you may find that you have a wrong notion about certain subjects. And if God said to you, "That thing you think is wrong." You would have to eat it. And it would be difficult according to pride. It would be difficult for anybody! I think it would be arrogant on my part to say, "I know the mind of God so well, that I know all about the goodness or badness of this certain behavior per se, without fault." However, I think we can be certain that everything God does is out of love for us. That is what we choose to believe, so we have faith. . . even when we don't understand. That is humility.
So, I believe that my choice on judgement day will be to say, "Please don't judge me according to the ultimate good, but rather, have mercy on me for my failings because I chose to love others and not judge others as you commanded us to do."
Ember - It will be helpful and comforting for me to continue pondering your insightful reflections about discovering God in the darkness during my frequent episodes of nighttime insomnia.
ReplyDeleteI agree with T's observation that true justice and mercy, both attributes of God's goodness, go hand in hand. But this connection isn't always clear in our limited human perspective. It forms the basis of the "Theodicy Question" that theologians (icluding the author of the Book of Job) have wrestled with throughout the ages.
I hope and pray that the Spirit of God will teach me to always and everywhere exercise "just mercy" and "merciful justice."
I like that, Leaven, "just mercy" and merciful justice".
ReplyDeleteIt will be fun for me to imagine that maybe you are up too and I'm not all alone in the darkness when I'm ever up into the witching hours.
I believe that humility will clothe our spiritual nakedness when we are judged by God. I pray often for God to remind me to be humble, and take comfort in it.
ReplyDeleteI also thought it might be helpful to say that I also used to suffer from severe insomnia, and when I began to hand my life over to God, and receive Jesus' sacrifice to do what I could not in my own life, my insomnia began to disappear. I'm not implying that your insomnia is the same as mine, but that is my experience, if it is helpful to you.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Leaven, I agree that the connection between justice and mercy isn't clear to our limited thinking. I believe that they only become clear when we allow God to manifest Himself in our heart, mind, and soul. I can attest, that every time I give another area of my life to God, I gain more clarity. I have questions about many things in life, still - more than I will ever know, I think, but I love the journey of God drawing me closer and closer to Him.
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