Sunday, July 15, 2007

God's will and the open door

I've been meditating on Romans 12:2 the past few days* and a thought occured to me that when you are faced with a number of open doors that all seem like they are in line with God's overall plan for humanity (ie: loving God, loving your neighbor, and fullfilling the great commission) just pick one and charge through it full blast, guns blazing. There's no need to wait around to figure out which one God wants you to do.

*Rom 12:2 - "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what the will of God is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."

2 comments:

David Baxley said...

Maybe... But the last line in the verse says "perfect will" which tells me God has a perfect will, a game plan set out for us that is perfect for us. There might be some good wills out there, which many Christians find because it is much easier. Less hearing and more thinking does it for us. But it is in learning to HEAR the voice of God that I believe we can learn to hear and discern the "perfect will" of God for our lives.

David Best said...

David,

I technically agree with your analysis of the passage and the concept, but history, Christian history in particular, checks my enthusiasm for confidence in finding God's perfect will.

Is God unable to communicate his will, leaving us in this state of broken relationships and a splintered church? When churches have split, and both sides say "thus sayeth the Lord", obviously one, possibly both are wrong. (I suppose in some cases both could be right.)

In part the answer to the "why so little perfect will of God is easy" "Sin" is the easy answer. But that is really only a partial answer, why are so many seemingly living in less than God's perfect will, why so much sin. What I just said implies that I know what God's perfect will is, which I don't. So let me be more clear. In the area of theology and biblical studies alone, so much disagreement, which in my mind seems to imply many people getting it wrong, simply as a matter of logic, (i.e. both sides can't be right.) Therefore so many people of whichever side is wrong are living in less than God's perfect will, believing that something less than the truth is accurate.

So getting to the point, I doubt people that say, "I heard the voice of God, this or that is plain as day." (doubt is not the same as "don't believe") Why, because there is so much disagreement over "this or that."

Let me add that again I agree with what you said... technically. History and the present reality give me pause.