This is one of my most recent.
A scripture passage was brought up during the sermon on Sunday (Well done, Jeff!) which is actually one of my favorites. Ephesians chapter one has all kinds of interesting, thought provoking tidbits in it worthy of much "chewing". I went back and chewed a little after the sermon.
The words that usually stand out to me are (depending on translation) "lavished", "mystery", "riches", "kind intention"...you get the idea. Well, this time something else hit me.
Look at verse 4..."just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world..." It's that last phrase that really caught me- "before the foundation of the world".
So...God knew all about what was going to happen with the fall and the flood and Jesus' sacrifice....before He even created the world? He looked at all that would be and still thought we were worth the price He would have to pay in order for us to be in relationship with Him.
That blows me away! Although, with the flood, I kind of get the idea maybe He was having second thoughts, but...
I picture God standing back and looking at the timeline. He's outside of time, right? So He can see the beginning, middle and end-at the same time, I suppose. He knows the results of all that happens before it even happens at our end. I figure that's why He can orchestrate things to get the right book to the right person at just the right time, for example.
Now I know some of you out there in cyberspace are saying, "If He knows all that then why does He let X happen in the first place?" Well, for one thing, God is working with flawed material. You can only do so much with a lump of clay that has impurities mixed into it. God has given mankind freewill and to do so runs great risk of rejection & rebellion.
On the other hand, for just as awful as it is when people choose evil, it is even better when people choose good. It is the choosing of love that God is after, if I may be presumptuous. I think that, at least part of, God's whole purpose in stepping into our timeline, is so that we will desire to choose Him as much as He desires to choose us. There can be no greater relationship than when two choose to love each other in spite of hard times. That relationship which is forged in the fire is purified and made stronger for having gone through it all together.
Thinking about it this way, it makes sense to me why so many times the metaphor of marriage is used in scripture. It's the closest thing we have to this type of relationship. God was using our language to try to explain how He feels about us; how He wants us to feel about Him. The two become one. (Gen 2:24) He has given everything He possibly could for this relationship to work. How much effort have you put forth? I know I haven't done near enough. I'll never be able to match His love for me. But does that mean I shouldn't try? Of course not.
Well, I'll leave this thought for the moment. I have more "chewing" to do. I welcome your responses.
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I don't know if you would be interested, but you might get a kick out of some of my posts over the summer with regards to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (and if you haven't read it before I highly recommend it). The word that I kept returning to in my writing was "relationship". Existence is given it's meaning through relationship. That is what we are made to experience. It is our great struggle and our great reward.
I have long expounded on my opinion that time is merely a way for humans to add some control and context to their existence. That time is even passing is a product of our perception. God is not interested in chronological order, he is interested in totality of relationship. That is why marriage is used as a metaphor. Unfortunately, I don't think enough people understand the totality of relationship in marriage (but that's another story).
I just thought I might add a different flavor to your chewing. Have fun!
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