I take comfort in God’s sovereignty.
I take pleasure in his goodness.
I am consoled by his foreknowledge and omniscience.
Of course faith and grace are gifts.
God is outside the bounds of time: therefore there is no
“destined before” because God has always seen beginning to end in
intricate detail simultaneously. To know before is not to destine
before, for to know is simply knowledge, and to destine is to plan.
Those whom he has foreknown, he has predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son – so, then, the one whom Christ knows
will be made like him. This is not a reinterpretation of Scripture nor a
glorification (or, worse, deification) of Man. Rather, this is
understanding that God is infinitely good, and therefore no evil can be
ascribed to him.
He is infinitely powerful, and needs not wrench my will to his, for absolute power is never in danger, nor can it be threatened.
He can be grieved and resisted, or else we never would have rebelled, and our sanctification would be complete upon salvation.
What is not God has the capacity to fall.
God created in us a will meant to conform naturally to
his. The Fall severed the like-mindedness we possessed and left our
souls but marred images of what was meant. But nothing happens that he
doesn’t know; and nothing thwarts his desires.
Must we reinvent God? If God is Love, then he is Just and
Merciful. He does not envy, he does not boast. He is not self-seeking,
nor rude, nor thinks evil things. He is not easily angered and keeps no
record of wrongs. He is patient and kind; he does not boast; he is not
arrogant, nor is he easily provoked. He doesn’t rejoice in
unrighteousness, but with the truth. He always protects, always trusts,
always hopes; believes all things; endures all things. He never fails.
His kindness leads us to repentance and his tenderness is
underscored by his absolute strength. His judgments are sure and true,
and his vengeance is underscored by his goodness.
He is fire, wind, water, and sustenance.
He is shepherd, teacher, and counselor.
He is Lord and Master of all that is, and calls into being that which was not, as if it were.
He is my old friend and Lord.
He is Father and Brother, firstborn over all creation, firstborn from among the dead.
He is Light that scatters the darkness. He was there
before the light existed, when he hovered over the deep; and he will be
Light when the light goes out.
He’s a warrior-king, a lover, a conqueror and deliverer – and his kingdom spans time and space, therefore it has no end.
He has called me.
And I have answered.
He has given me a name.
He has given me an inheritance.
He is my old friend and Lord.
I am but a drink offering.
