It seems heretical, I know, to say that God does not know what tomorrow will bring, or even this afternoon. For if God already knows what anyone of us is going to think or say or do at any time in the future (from this moment on), then it means that we have no free will. It means that God has already determined all our thoughts, words and actions –and has since the day we were conceived.
But, no pun intended, that is inconceivable. We are not robots doing what God has programmed us to do. We are human beings with free will who do what we want to do and accept the consequences of those words and actions. God may be pleased or saddened by them, but God does not interfere with our choices. But that does not mean God is absent from our lives.
Our God is God of the present. For God the past is the past and can’t be undone, only to be forgiven or to be thankful – for which God is. God is, if you will, an ever-present IS. God is and always is at every moment in time. What the future, even this afternoon, will be is determined by each one of us. God’s will is that whatever we think, say or do is out of love for God, others and self. But we determine that, not God.
But that does not mean God is not involved, that God sort of stands off on the side and watches creation and take care of itself. God is intimately involved in creation and in each one of us but only in so far as we let God. Climate change, for instance, is as much in our hands as it is in God’s, maybe even more so. Our life is more in our hands than in God’s, but God is involved if we allow God to be.
Isn’t that why we pray? Yes, we pray that God’s will will be done in our lives here on earth, but we have to be willing to do our part: to do what we believe is God’s will even if we are not always sure what that will is. And when we do not know what God’s will might be, we pray that our will will be God’s will.
Let me give you a very personal example. I have recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The treatment calls for two years of hormone therapy and 44 radiation blasts, five days a week until completed. I don’t have to undergo treatment. The choice is mine. I’ve lived a great life for 82+years, totally blessed beyond anything I deserve. But I’m not done living. So I will do my part. My doctor will do her part. The rest is in God’s hands.
Does God want my treatment to be successful so that I can live many more years or is God satisfied that I have lived long enough? I don’t know. That’s why I pray daily that it is God’s will that my treatment is successful. In this matter, I want my will to be God’s will. If it is, I will be thankful. If it is not, I will be thankful for the life God has allowed me to live. What the future brings, no one knows, not even God, but that’s okay. What is important is the present and living it to the fullest, which I intend to do, God willing.
No comments:
Post a Comment