Scripture is replete with passages about God’s sovereignty. In fact, the resoluteness of his ordained purpose is a major undertone of the biblical narrative, redemptive history. Yet, the Bible simultaneously affirms the responsibility of human choice, and the dynamic of man acting and God holding him to account is also a recurring theme. Paul articulates this synergy in his exhortation to the church at Philippi in Philippians 2:12b-13. In his mind, there is obviously no contradiction between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. The following compendia offer the biblical support for the sovereign control of the Lord –even over evil, the culpability of man, and the harmony of both.
The steadfast purpose of the Lord pervades Holy Writ, from Genesis to Revelation. His will cannot be thwarted. God preserves, cooperates, and governs for his glory (Col 1:16-17, Job 37:5-13, Eph 1:11, respectively). The humbled Nebuchadnezzar proclaims this truth in Daniel 4:35. Isaiah writes of God’s foreknowledge and foreordination of all that will come to pass (Is 14:24-27, 37:26, 41:22-23, 46:9-11). And, to reverse the consideration, every event aligns to God’s designed plan (Ps 139:16, Prov 16:4, 33, 19:21, Jer 10:23, Rom 8:28). The church at Ephesus reads that their spiritual inheritance is founded in God’s sovereignty (Eph 1:11). And the Lord controls specific aspects of life. This is seen in inanimate creation (Job 37:6-13, 38:32; Ps 104:14, 135:7, 148:8; Matt 5:45) and his rule over the animals (Ps 104:27-29; Matt 6:26, 10:29). The matters of nations and rulers are ordained by the Lord (Ezra 1:1, 6:22; Job 12:23; Ps 22:28; Prov 21:1; Dan 4:34-35; Acts 17:26). And the events of man’s days are formed even before his conception (Job 14:5; Ps 139:16; Jer 1:5; Gal 1:15). God directs man’s talents and abilities (Ps 18:34; 1 Cor 4:7) and even those occurrences which appear to be random (Prov 16:33).
Under the umbrella of these categories is the place of evil. Many stumble at the question of God’s sovereign control over the injury, calamity, and suffering left by the wake of the Fall. Logically, either he is not sovereign and does not cause evil, or he is not good and does cause evil. Biblically, both explanations are wrong. God is holy and does not sin (Lev 19:2). And God is also omniscient and omnipotent (Heb 4:13, 2 Chron, 20:6). Evil does not surprise him, nor is he powerless to stop it. God has control over good and evil (Isa 45:7). The salvific stories of Joseph and Jesus attest to God’s orchestration over the means of evil to accomplish his glorifying ends of good (Gen 41-50, Matt 26-28, cf. Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 18-20). Bruce Ware calls this control asymmetrical in that God’s relations to good is “direct and immediate” because he is good (Ware, 102). On the other hand, his control of evil is indirect and permissive because, again, evil is antithetical to his holy nature. God’s allowance of evil is, in each instance, founded in his divine wisdom and goodness for the purpose of his glory.
In the good and the evil, man is responsible; and this doctrine is also seen in Scripture, from the beginning. Clearly God does not view himself as a mere deterministic puppet master, running the lives of men by strings, because he prohibited Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17). Were he to control their lives by acting for them, he would have no need to give them rules. The practice is antithetical. No one tells a plane passenger the rules of aviation. Most people never give a second’s thought to the stipulations necessary for the flight they board. The pilot needs and knows the rules because he controls the plane. If God controls humans in that immediate sense, rules are a moot point. People are just passengers. But he does give rules to man, so in some sense, to some degree, man must be able to choose right or wrong. And when he chooses the latter, he is held responsible for that decision. The Ten Commandments, and every other decree, exhortation, or entreatment, to the nation of Israel, the early Church, and even pagans, speaks volumes for this case.
The question, of course, is how God’s sovereignty and man’s culpable choice harmonize. God’s orchestration of every aspect of Joseph’s journey to Egypt is very evident. He intricately weaves both good and evil to accomplish his purposes in and through Joseph. The evil includes his brothers’ murderous thoughts and betrayal, the lust and lies of Potiphar’s wife, imprisonment, and the forgetfulness of the cupbearer. The good comes in the forms of Joseph’s dreams, Reuben’s protections, Potiphar’s initial favor, the prison keeper’s favor, his prison cellmates’ dreams, Pharoah’s dreams, Pharoah’s favor, and Joseph’s success under Pharoah. It may be asked how can God’s control over these events can be certain. Joseph attributes the interpretations of dreams to God (Gen 41:16), as well as the seasons of prosperity and famine (Gen 41:28, 32). He tells his brothers that it was not them who sent him to Egypt but God (Gen 45:5-8). But each situation, each person, was choosing to make the action he wanted to make. Joseph’s brothers were only thinking of their desire to get rid of Joseph when they sold him to the Ishmaelite caravan. They acted on those desires. They intended to harm Joseph, but God intended it for good to accomplish his purposes (Gen 50:20). And yet the brothers were responsible for their actions, and they knew it (Gen 50:15-21). God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart (Exod 7-11) and control of Assyria (Isa 10) to exact his purposes on Israel are other biblical accounts of his hand over the good and evil actions of humans, while they remain responsible. Peter also clearly believes in this cohesion between sovereignty and human will when he accuses the Jews of killing Jesus (Acts 2:22-23). The Bible declares God’s exhaustive and meticulous sovereignty over every aspect of life. Even so, humans are free to do what their hearts desire most; thus, they remain fully responsible for their decisions.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
On Creation
I'm in the process of writing a paper on several of my doctrinal beliefs for my systematic theology class. I thought I would post excerpts as I complete them. Here's the first...
In Genesis 1, the beginning of time and the existence of the world is defined as God’s creation, ex nihilo, out of nothing. By his act of speech, light appeared, sky materialized, land formed, plants grew, animals walked, fish swam, and man lived. There was no matter prior to this creative Word. The psalmist proclaims this truth in Psalm 33:6, 9. The Evangelist declares it in John 1:3. The apostle affirms it in Colossians 1:16. And the authors of Acts and Hebrews also bear witness to its veracity (Acts 4:24, 14:15; Heb 11:3).
Never, in the entirety of Scripture, is the doctrine of God as Creator questioned or contradicted. Rather, this belief is maintained as a critical tenet of the faith of Yahweh’s chosen people, pervading both Old and New Testaments. In a whirlwind of majestic rhetoric, God questions Job’s knowledge by emphasizing his absence when he brought the earth into existence (Job 38-39). Moses establishes God as his refuge because the Almighty existed even before he created the earth (Ps 90:2). Wisdom speaks of her presence with the Lord “before the beginning of the earth” and while he was creating it (Prov 8:22-31). Through Isaiah, God asks Israel how they can doubt his knowledge of their ways by reminding them that he is Creator (Is 40:27-28). Jesus speaks of “the abomination of desolation” as being more difficult than any other period since God created the world (Mark 13:19). The divine creation of the world is also used to argue the preeminence of Christ (Col 1:15-20). Finally, the song of the twenty-four elders sets the worthiness of God in his creation of all things (Rev 4:11).
In Genesis 1, the beginning of time and the existence of the world is defined as God’s creation, ex nihilo, out of nothing. By his act of speech, light appeared, sky materialized, land formed, plants grew, animals walked, fish swam, and man lived. There was no matter prior to this creative Word. The psalmist proclaims this truth in Psalm 33:6, 9. The Evangelist declares it in John 1:3. The apostle affirms it in Colossians 1:16. And the authors of Acts and Hebrews also bear witness to its veracity (Acts 4:24, 14:15; Heb 11:3).
Never, in the entirety of Scripture, is the doctrine of God as Creator questioned or contradicted. Rather, this belief is maintained as a critical tenet of the faith of Yahweh’s chosen people, pervading both Old and New Testaments. In a whirlwind of majestic rhetoric, God questions Job’s knowledge by emphasizing his absence when he brought the earth into existence (Job 38-39). Moses establishes God as his refuge because the Almighty existed even before he created the earth (Ps 90:2). Wisdom speaks of her presence with the Lord “before the beginning of the earth” and while he was creating it (Prov 8:22-31). Through Isaiah, God asks Israel how they can doubt his knowledge of their ways by reminding them that he is Creator (Is 40:27-28). Jesus speaks of “the abomination of desolation” as being more difficult than any other period since God created the world (Mark 13:19). The divine creation of the world is also used to argue the preeminence of Christ (Col 1:15-20). Finally, the song of the twenty-four elders sets the worthiness of God in his creation of all things (Rev 4:11).
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Pursuit of Christ
A few years ago, I decided it was time to read C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. His spiritual allegories were just what I needed at the time to make some significant biblical truths more precious, more poignant. And in the process I fell in love with Aslan. As I watched the recently-released “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” I was reminded again how much I love him. I love his intimate tenderness with Lucy. I love his gentle justice with Peter. His approachability with all creatures, great and small. I love his heroic sacrifice at the Stone Table. His redemption of Eustace. His strength. His authority. I still get goose-bumps when the White Witch is silenced and sat down by his roaring response to her doubt of his integrity. Despite its brave façade, evil shudders at the thought of Aslan. When Aslan comes on the scene, I get excited. Something great is going to happen. When Aslan comes on the scene, all will be made right.
But Aslan is only a fictitious shadow of the true Lion. The great King. The One whose existence established tenderness, justice, authority, and love. Without Christ, Aslan would never exist.
So you can imagine my sorrow when I realized Aslan elicited stronger emotion in my heart than Jesus. It’s a true travesty when the copy is regarded more than the type. The problem isn’t with Aslan. It’s with me.
The reason a moving story or breath-taking scene can stir my affections such is because I haven’t spent enough time engaging the real Person. Surely if I grasped a fraction of the majesty and marvel of Jesus, a mere fictitious allegory, no matter how well-written, would seem the pale comparison it is and my response would correlate to that knowledge.
So, resolved, by God’s grace: get to know Jesus better. Be intentional about studying Him in the entirety of Scripture. I start in the Old Testament. Stay tuned...
But Aslan is only a fictitious shadow of the true Lion. The great King. The One whose existence established tenderness, justice, authority, and love. Without Christ, Aslan would never exist.
So you can imagine my sorrow when I realized Aslan elicited stronger emotion in my heart than Jesus. It’s a true travesty when the copy is regarded more than the type. The problem isn’t with Aslan. It’s with me.
The reason a moving story or breath-taking scene can stir my affections such is because I haven’t spent enough time engaging the real Person. Surely if I grasped a fraction of the majesty and marvel of Jesus, a mere fictitious allegory, no matter how well-written, would seem the pale comparison it is and my response would correlate to that knowledge.
So, resolved, by God’s grace: get to know Jesus better. Be intentional about studying Him in the entirety of Scripture. I start in the Old Testament. Stay tuned...
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Letter 2010
Beloved family and friends,
In the not-so-distant past, I stood outside the terminal of a busy foreign airport, expecting to meet a man who would take my traveling companions and me to our hostel. He was nowhere to be seen, so we put our luggage in a pile and waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually, our bags became stools as the 18+ hours of travel took their toll. A mob of taxis and busses honked their way through the lines. People blurred in and out. Security officers paraded around with AK-47s and menacing glares. Still we waited. Turkish blared simultaneously from the PA system, the stationary vehicle patrol, and the crowd in an intimidating cacophony of loud. We did our best to tune out the roar, and I suppose it was moderately effective...until the parading men pointed their guns our way. They yelled at us in Turkish. And all we could do was stare dumbly back. Some sympathetic soul took pity and translated. The gun guys wanted to know why were lying about like a bunch of vagrants. When our plight was communicated, they seemed to be less displeased, but the glares never ceased. We waited there, helpless and exhausted, for more than 6 hours. In the end, I remember sitting down on my bag, putting my head in my hands, and telling God that I couldn’t take it anymore. I was entirely undone. Then, I looked up and, through the tears, saw an old, silver van pull up to the curb. The wait was finally over. Our knight had arrived.
In 2010, that beleaguered, head-in-the-hands feeling was a common occurrence for me. The more I reminisced about the year, the more I realized many of you -my family, friends, and colleagues- endured lots of hard trials, too. And if this year wasn’t your year, a past year was. I recently read about the afflicted life of David Brainerd. It was encouraging to relate to his struggle and watch him seek God. Countless men and women before me took heart from this godly man’s life. And that same model is seen in the Psalms and all over Christendom. Our hardships are to be sung so others can hear and praise God. So, unconventional as this topic may be for a Christmas letter, I pray you will be blessed –not because I am a great person, but because I am sustained by a great God.
The hard seasons were interspersed throughout the year, but this fall was the worst. And, sadly, it was also the most despairing moment of my walk with Jesus. Ever. For the sake of time and significance, I’ll skip the details. Essentially, I spent the first three months of the school year exhausted and overwhelmed. In times like that you are easier prey to everything –even those matters with which you are normally able to cope. So on top of the circumstances that started it all, I was beginning to feel plagued by singleness and loneliness and ineptitude as a teacher and failure as a Christian. In the past, I’d learned to combat those things with truth, namely Christ’s work on the Cross. But I was so weary I didn’t even want to try. I felt abandoned by God, and I let myself consider it was true. I knew all the churchy answers, but I'd convinced myself they didn’t work for me anymore. I wanted to quit the whole Christian thing. I was tired of trying to be obedient. I was even looking to be willfully disobedient. Eventually, I realized I was frustrated because God wasn’t changing my circumstances when I thought he should. (Sounds like a 25-year-old fit, huh?) I discovered that when I’m pressed, I rely first on my own strength, my own system. But this time it failed me. Not only that, it wore me out. I fell flat on my face, and there was no grabbing bootstraps to get back up. If God wasn’t going to help, I was finished. But, help he did. It wasn’t a flashy, blazing swords kind of help. It wasn’t even a beat-up van kind of help. There was no instant change. But God continued to quietly speak truth into my life and never let me go –even when I wanted him to. It was the Holy Spirit in action. I couldn’t make myself choose a godless life. Literally. God graciously wouldn’t let me escape the fact that as terrible as everything seemed, there was hope nowhere else. I’d seen God’s faithfulness too many times to be able to logically conclude he’d actually abandoned me. To ultimately doubt his love would’ve made me the epitome of a fool. We were created for dependence. I knew that, but I think I had to fall harder than I ever had –in ways I never had– to learn what it really meant for God to be my only hope. It’s funny how Christian clichés can seem trite until the Teacher of life schools our ignorance to regard them as precious.
So wherever you are today, in sunshine or sorrow, I pray God will “grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” [Ephesians 3:14-19]
To be truly saved from anything, we must first give up on fixing the problem ourselves. Whether it’s the eternal problem of sin, or the immediate problems of life –we need to rest entirely on the power of God and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. For those who fully rely, there is always a Knight who pulls to the curb, even if change doesn’t come right away.
May 2011 find you resting in the joy of who Jesus is!
Cristi
========================================================================
the loved of 2010
—aunthood: Jack, Hallee, & Char-Char
—The Hidden Smile of God, by Piper
—Hymns remade by Page CXVI
—Dr. Betts and my Old Testament classes
—cooking with children
—Psalm 77; Isaiah 54-55; Hosea 2:14-15, 6:1-3
—Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, by Hertzberg/Francois
—traveling: Belize, Mexico, & Cali
—The Search for God and Guinness, by Mansfield
—2nd half marathon in the Rockies
—A Gospel Primer for Christians, by Vincent
—Justification & Regeneration, by Leiter
—starting an FCA chapter at Cheylin
—The Percy Jackson Series, by Riordan
—The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, by Birdsall
—www.twentytwowords.com
—writing a devotion published in Women at Southern: A Walk Through Psalms
—Creators, by Johnson
the anticipated of 2011
—aunthood: Jack, Hallee, and Char-Char
—women’s book study on Crazy Love, by Chan
—investing more in people instead of projects
—January/summer seminary classes
—possibly finishing my M.A. this year???
—Broken Down House, by Tripp
—mastering Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
—traveling: North Carolina & ???
—Zumba!!!
—Cheylin: FCA, FFA trip, teaching ESL class to faculty
—watching God’s truth take root in hearts
In the not-so-distant past, I stood outside the terminal of a busy foreign airport, expecting to meet a man who would take my traveling companions and me to our hostel. He was nowhere to be seen, so we put our luggage in a pile and waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually, our bags became stools as the 18+ hours of travel took their toll. A mob of taxis and busses honked their way through the lines. People blurred in and out. Security officers paraded around with AK-47s and menacing glares. Still we waited. Turkish blared simultaneously from the PA system, the stationary vehicle patrol, and the crowd in an intimidating cacophony of loud. We did our best to tune out the roar, and I suppose it was moderately effective...until the parading men pointed their guns our way. They yelled at us in Turkish. And all we could do was stare dumbly back. Some sympathetic soul took pity and translated. The gun guys wanted to know why were lying about like a bunch of vagrants. When our plight was communicated, they seemed to be less displeased, but the glares never ceased. We waited there, helpless and exhausted, for more than 6 hours. In the end, I remember sitting down on my bag, putting my head in my hands, and telling God that I couldn’t take it anymore. I was entirely undone. Then, I looked up and, through the tears, saw an old, silver van pull up to the curb. The wait was finally over. Our knight had arrived.
In 2010, that beleaguered, head-in-the-hands feeling was a common occurrence for me. The more I reminisced about the year, the more I realized many of you -my family, friends, and colleagues- endured lots of hard trials, too. And if this year wasn’t your year, a past year was. I recently read about the afflicted life of David Brainerd. It was encouraging to relate to his struggle and watch him seek God. Countless men and women before me took heart from this godly man’s life. And that same model is seen in the Psalms and all over Christendom. Our hardships are to be sung so others can hear and praise God. So, unconventional as this topic may be for a Christmas letter, I pray you will be blessed –not because I am a great person, but because I am sustained by a great God.
The hard seasons were interspersed throughout the year, but this fall was the worst. And, sadly, it was also the most despairing moment of my walk with Jesus. Ever. For the sake of time and significance, I’ll skip the details. Essentially, I spent the first three months of the school year exhausted and overwhelmed. In times like that you are easier prey to everything –even those matters with which you are normally able to cope. So on top of the circumstances that started it all, I was beginning to feel plagued by singleness and loneliness and ineptitude as a teacher and failure as a Christian. In the past, I’d learned to combat those things with truth, namely Christ’s work on the Cross. But I was so weary I didn’t even want to try. I felt abandoned by God, and I let myself consider it was true. I knew all the churchy answers, but I'd convinced myself they didn’t work for me anymore. I wanted to quit the whole Christian thing. I was tired of trying to be obedient. I was even looking to be willfully disobedient. Eventually, I realized I was frustrated because God wasn’t changing my circumstances when I thought he should. (Sounds like a 25-year-old fit, huh?) I discovered that when I’m pressed, I rely first on my own strength, my own system. But this time it failed me. Not only that, it wore me out. I fell flat on my face, and there was no grabbing bootstraps to get back up. If God wasn’t going to help, I was finished. But, help he did. It wasn’t a flashy, blazing swords kind of help. It wasn’t even a beat-up van kind of help. There was no instant change. But God continued to quietly speak truth into my life and never let me go –even when I wanted him to. It was the Holy Spirit in action. I couldn’t make myself choose a godless life. Literally. God graciously wouldn’t let me escape the fact that as terrible as everything seemed, there was hope nowhere else. I’d seen God’s faithfulness too many times to be able to logically conclude he’d actually abandoned me. To ultimately doubt his love would’ve made me the epitome of a fool. We were created for dependence. I knew that, but I think I had to fall harder than I ever had –in ways I never had– to learn what it really meant for God to be my only hope. It’s funny how Christian clichés can seem trite until the Teacher of life schools our ignorance to regard them as precious.
So wherever you are today, in sunshine or sorrow, I pray God will “grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” [Ephesians 3:14-19]
To be truly saved from anything, we must first give up on fixing the problem ourselves. Whether it’s the eternal problem of sin, or the immediate problems of life –we need to rest entirely on the power of God and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. For those who fully rely, there is always a Knight who pulls to the curb, even if change doesn’t come right away.
May 2011 find you resting in the joy of who Jesus is!
Cristi
========================================================================
the loved of 2010
—aunthood: Jack, Hallee, & Char-Char
—The Hidden Smile of God, by Piper
—Hymns remade by Page CXVI
—Dr. Betts and my Old Testament classes
—cooking with children
—Psalm 77; Isaiah 54-55; Hosea 2:14-15, 6:1-3
—Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, by Hertzberg/Francois
—traveling: Belize, Mexico, & Cali
—The Search for God and Guinness, by Mansfield
—2nd half marathon in the Rockies
—A Gospel Primer for Christians, by Vincent
—Justification & Regeneration, by Leiter
—starting an FCA chapter at Cheylin
—The Percy Jackson Series, by Riordan
—The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, by Birdsall
—www.twentytwowords.com
—writing a devotion published in Women at Southern: A Walk Through Psalms
—Creators, by Johnson
the anticipated of 2011
—aunthood: Jack, Hallee, and Char-Char
—women’s book study on Crazy Love, by Chan
—investing more in people instead of projects
—January/summer seminary classes
—possibly finishing my M.A. this year???
—Broken Down House, by Tripp
—mastering Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
—traveling: North Carolina & ???
—Zumba!!!
—Cheylin: FCA, FFA trip, teaching ESL class to faculty
—watching God’s truth take root in hearts
Sunday, November 28, 2010
God Does Not Reside on Mount Olympus
After my two-month marathon of grad school this summer, I decided to take a break from the rigors of academia to read Rick Riordan’s popular series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I’m a fifth grade teacher, and I try to read children’s books when I can so I'm able to recommend quality literature to my students. But the truth is –I wanted to read this series. For me. And I wasn’t disappointed.
The series is based on the premise that the Olympic gods are alive and well –only now they reside above New York, the major city of the modern world power. And the Olympians, being who they are, of course, have demigod children running around the United States. One of these demigods is the protagonist: Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. The series follows him from the moment he discovers his true identity to the moment his greatness is ultimately tested in the final battle. The stories are fast-paced, intriguing, and humorous. They are about heroism, honor, and friendship. Read them. I know you’ll love them.
But –as I took the journey with Percy and his gang across the U.S. and under the ocean and through the Labyrinth, I wandered about the profit of reading a book saturated in the mythology of pagan gods. Perhaps I think too much, but this consideration led to more fruitful thoughts. In the end, I found Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and Co. to be painfully lacking as deity worthy of authentic worship. And I found God even more securely established as the One who is worthy. Not that I expected anything different, but the absurdity of the Olympians as "gods" is laughable.
The books rely heavily on the ancient myths I learned in high school and college. Revisiting them as an adult, the gods of Olympus seemed to be sniveling, spoiled tyrants clearly constructed from the minds of men. They react to the actions of men. They are wooed by the beauty of women. And they are as fickle as, well, as a hormonal woman! They are altogether too human to be divine. In other words, when it came to explaining natural phenomena and all the other mysteries of life through their gods, it is evident that the Greeks only had the faculty of their own minds to do it. They couldn’t create something truly supernatural because they themselves were not supernatural. The Olympians act in ways that make sense to the Greeks because the Greeks were writing the book. They were incapable of thinking beyond that. The Olympians can only be founded in humanity because they are the brainchildren of humans. So, human nature, with a smattering of imaginative, superhuman steroids, is the DNA of the Greek gods.
Compare this to the Bible, and you’ll find Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The sovereign God who does not bend to the actions of insignificant men. The holy God who is supremely righteous. The gracious God who is truly immortal and wise. The merciful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with His people. This God may not always make sense to our feeble minds, but He does not need to –and I would venture to say, He doesn’t care. I don’t mean to be flippant. God is omniscient. If He deems it wise to reach down and open our eyes so we understand Him better, He will. But He doesn’t have to. He doesn’t owe it to us. Because He is God, and we are not. He need not make sense to humans to be real. Unlike the Olympians, man did not invent Him. Instead, God took the initiative to tell us who He is. God reveals Himself to us in the Bible. Perhaps men held the pen, but God is the author. If a man had created God to be accepted by the rest of humanity, he would have been better off making God a little more understandable, a little less mysterious. The God of the Bible wouldn’t ever win a divinity popularity contest because He simply doesn’t fit into our measly mental boxes. We don’t like what we don’t understand because we can’t control it.
Take, for example, the story of Job. Terrible atrocities were put upon this godly man. Were he Greek, he would have comforted himself in the logical conclusion that Zeus and Hera were having a marital rift. Or Athena was grumpy because of a cold. So he would have tried to make his life better with sacrifices and any other notion that would appease the offended god. Instead, Job humbly proclaims, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth...I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted...The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed by the name of the Lord” (Job 40:4, 42:2, 1:21b, ESV). Job realizes that God does not owe him an explanation. If He gives him one, that is His loving purpose. If He withholds one, that is His loving purpose. God answers to no man lest He chooses. And we are wise to not try controlling our circumstances with attempts to make them better, but to depend fully on the One who can sustain us in them –rain or shine.
Another difference that struck me in the books is the capriciousness of the Olympians. I briefly mentioned this previously, but I especially want to note this moody vacillation toward the gods' own children. Percy and his demigod friends are always in limbo as to whether or not they are pleasing their Olympic parents –and questioning what sort of catastrophe may occur as a manifestation of their rage if they are not. Now, God is perfectly merciful, gracious, and loving. He is also perfectly righteous and just. If He must exhibit His wrath toward sin as a rightful extension of His righteousness, He has every right to do so. He would not be truly just if He didn’t. But He will not extend that wrath to His children. That is why Christ came. The wrath of God was satisfied in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. [See 2 Corinthians 5:21 and 1 Peter 2:24.] Those who repent of their sins and believe in that perfect work need never wonder about God’s love toward them. It was purchased, once and for all, by Jesus’ blood. For those repentant souls, God’s wrath was poured out entirely on Christ. There is not even a drop left in the cup.
There was one thing I appreciated about the spirituality of Riordan’s characters. They revere the Olympians. This is particularly expressed through discussions of the gods’ names. When Zeus’s name is mentioned, the sky thunders on cloudless days. Poseidon’s name churns the sea. Percy is often reminded to “be less casual about throwing [the gods’] names around” (The Lightning Thief, page 67). Yet the true God’s name, Jesus’s name, and every variation of the two are glib curse words today. That wasn’t always the case. For the Israelites, speaking the name of Yahweh was in and of itself an act of worship. In fact, we see the reverence of His name directed in the Ten Commandments. Oh, that we would return to that awe and veneration! God’s name is abused in the streets and on TV...and even in the prayers of Christians. His name is not a prayer filler tantamount to “umm” or “uh.” But we use it as such. This whole thought process made me wonder why the names of other gods aren’t used as curse words. You never hear someone shout “Allah!” as they stub their toe, or “Buddah, I love these!” as they slurp down BBQ chicken wings. I wonder if it’s because of the popularity of Christianity. Perhaps the other deity are just more revered. Or perhaps Satan just doesn’t give a wit about slandering the names of myths so he doesn't even put the thought into human heads. Just wondering...
Anyway, bottom line: God does not reside on Mount Olympus. He is not borne of man’s imagination. He is God. But He is approachable through the sacrifice of Jesus. [Hebrews 4:14-16] May that knowledge drop you to your knees in worship. May you speak His name in humility, remembering that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:1).
The series is based on the premise that the Olympic gods are alive and well –only now they reside above New York, the major city of the modern world power. And the Olympians, being who they are, of course, have demigod children running around the United States. One of these demigods is the protagonist: Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. The series follows him from the moment he discovers his true identity to the moment his greatness is ultimately tested in the final battle. The stories are fast-paced, intriguing, and humorous. They are about heroism, honor, and friendship. Read them. I know you’ll love them.
But –as I took the journey with Percy and his gang across the U.S. and under the ocean and through the Labyrinth, I wandered about the profit of reading a book saturated in the mythology of pagan gods. Perhaps I think too much, but this consideration led to more fruitful thoughts. In the end, I found Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and Co. to be painfully lacking as deity worthy of authentic worship. And I found God even more securely established as the One who is worthy. Not that I expected anything different, but the absurdity of the Olympians as "gods" is laughable.
The books rely heavily on the ancient myths I learned in high school and college. Revisiting them as an adult, the gods of Olympus seemed to be sniveling, spoiled tyrants clearly constructed from the minds of men. They react to the actions of men. They are wooed by the beauty of women. And they are as fickle as, well, as a hormonal woman! They are altogether too human to be divine. In other words, when it came to explaining natural phenomena and all the other mysteries of life through their gods, it is evident that the Greeks only had the faculty of their own minds to do it. They couldn’t create something truly supernatural because they themselves were not supernatural. The Olympians act in ways that make sense to the Greeks because the Greeks were writing the book. They were incapable of thinking beyond that. The Olympians can only be founded in humanity because they are the brainchildren of humans. So, human nature, with a smattering of imaginative, superhuman steroids, is the DNA of the Greek gods.
Compare this to the Bible, and you’ll find Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The sovereign God who does not bend to the actions of insignificant men. The holy God who is supremely righteous. The gracious God who is truly immortal and wise. The merciful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with His people. This God may not always make sense to our feeble minds, but He does not need to –and I would venture to say, He doesn’t care. I don’t mean to be flippant. God is omniscient. If He deems it wise to reach down and open our eyes so we understand Him better, He will. But He doesn’t have to. He doesn’t owe it to us. Because He is God, and we are not. He need not make sense to humans to be real. Unlike the Olympians, man did not invent Him. Instead, God took the initiative to tell us who He is. God reveals Himself to us in the Bible. Perhaps men held the pen, but God is the author. If a man had created God to be accepted by the rest of humanity, he would have been better off making God a little more understandable, a little less mysterious. The God of the Bible wouldn’t ever win a divinity popularity contest because He simply doesn’t fit into our measly mental boxes. We don’t like what we don’t understand because we can’t control it.
Take, for example, the story of Job. Terrible atrocities were put upon this godly man. Were he Greek, he would have comforted himself in the logical conclusion that Zeus and Hera were having a marital rift. Or Athena was grumpy because of a cold. So he would have tried to make his life better with sacrifices and any other notion that would appease the offended god. Instead, Job humbly proclaims, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth...I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted...The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed by the name of the Lord” (Job 40:4, 42:2, 1:21b, ESV). Job realizes that God does not owe him an explanation. If He gives him one, that is His loving purpose. If He withholds one, that is His loving purpose. God answers to no man lest He chooses. And we are wise to not try controlling our circumstances with attempts to make them better, but to depend fully on the One who can sustain us in them –rain or shine.
Another difference that struck me in the books is the capriciousness of the Olympians. I briefly mentioned this previously, but I especially want to note this moody vacillation toward the gods' own children. Percy and his demigod friends are always in limbo as to whether or not they are pleasing their Olympic parents –and questioning what sort of catastrophe may occur as a manifestation of their rage if they are not. Now, God is perfectly merciful, gracious, and loving. He is also perfectly righteous and just. If He must exhibit His wrath toward sin as a rightful extension of His righteousness, He has every right to do so. He would not be truly just if He didn’t. But He will not extend that wrath to His children. That is why Christ came. The wrath of God was satisfied in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. [See 2 Corinthians 5:21 and 1 Peter 2:24.] Those who repent of their sins and believe in that perfect work need never wonder about God’s love toward them. It was purchased, once and for all, by Jesus’ blood. For those repentant souls, God’s wrath was poured out entirely on Christ. There is not even a drop left in the cup.
There was one thing I appreciated about the spirituality of Riordan’s characters. They revere the Olympians. This is particularly expressed through discussions of the gods’ names. When Zeus’s name is mentioned, the sky thunders on cloudless days. Poseidon’s name churns the sea. Percy is often reminded to “be less casual about throwing [the gods’] names around” (The Lightning Thief, page 67). Yet the true God’s name, Jesus’s name, and every variation of the two are glib curse words today. That wasn’t always the case. For the Israelites, speaking the name of Yahweh was in and of itself an act of worship. In fact, we see the reverence of His name directed in the Ten Commandments. Oh, that we would return to that awe and veneration! God’s name is abused in the streets and on TV...and even in the prayers of Christians. His name is not a prayer filler tantamount to “umm” or “uh.” But we use it as such. This whole thought process made me wonder why the names of other gods aren’t used as curse words. You never hear someone shout “Allah!” as they stub their toe, or “Buddah, I love these!” as they slurp down BBQ chicken wings. I wonder if it’s because of the popularity of Christianity. Perhaps the other deity are just more revered. Or perhaps Satan just doesn’t give a wit about slandering the names of myths so he doesn't even put the thought into human heads. Just wondering...
Anyway, bottom line: God does not reside on Mount Olympus. He is not borne of man’s imagination. He is God. But He is approachable through the sacrifice of Jesus. [Hebrews 4:14-16] May that knowledge drop you to your knees in worship. May you speak His name in humility, remembering that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:1).
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