A weekly re昀ection from a memeber of the Hastings clergy

Written by Pastor Paris Pasch of The Journey Church in Hastings

If God Is In Control, Why Does Life Seem So Out Of Control?

Often people ask me this question, as if the answer is to blame God for the mess. All I know about God is in His written word, called the Bible. I’ve spent the last 44 years peering into its pages searching for answers on how God works. There I have found that God has always afforded the greatest act of love by giving us free will, or our right to trust Him or not. He knew that when He gave us free will, many of us would abuse the privilege of choice and reject His will. That’s why He reveals His will in the Bible, where we read about His son Jesus.

So let’s talk about God’s control. God is not revealed as a puppet master who dictates all the thoughts and actions of people. He knows the future, but doesn’t usurp our free will in that knowledge. God says life and death are in front of us every day, but then He tells us to choose life. He tells us that we must love our neighbor, but often we choose to distrust or distance ourselves from our neighbor. He tells us to care for the poor and needy, but often we walk by them on a regular basis. So is it God’s lack of control or are we the ones who use our free will to make this world a bit less pleasant?

Next time you consider blaming God for oppression, riots, war, anger, death, loss, starvation and destruction ask yourself what role did people who had their freewill contribute to the story? Then choose to use your free will to follow God’s will to true peace, freedom and eternal life.

John 8:36 (NIV) So if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you will be free indeed.