Enjoy the Paradox

(Proverbs 20:24 KJV)  Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

One of the paradoxes of the Christian faith is the tension between free will and God’s omnipotence.  Without free will morality lacks meaning.  It is simply programing.  Without omnipotence God is not God in the Biblical sense.  Whole books have been written trying to come to grips with these two different requirements.  I won’t solve them today.

Both are still vital to the Christian life.  We must acknowledge that all is in God’s hands.  When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we say, “Thy will be done.”  That is a confession as much as a request.  We are saved by the gift of grace.  We cannot earn salvation.

At the same time God calls for a life of obedience.  This would be sham if we did not have the ability to disobey and mockingly false is we had not choice in the matter.  It would make God nothing but a game designer and us his pieces.  That does not answer the question either.

So?  Relax in the tension.  Rest in the struggle.  We are challenged to think and reason.  We are to seek understanding.  It is an appetite that will be momentarily satisfied yet will keep bringing new horizons for eternity.