WrestleMania

When I left the Annex Wednesday night I felt like I had been involved in WrestleMania. Actually, thats sort of how this whole series examining "The Sovereignty of God" has felt. I think we have truly been "wrestling with Scripture". Not that I feel like I have been beat up, but more that I have really had to take hold of this subject, and wrestle with it, and think on it, and meditate on it...and think on it, and meditate on it, and think....you get the picture. Unfortunately, I can't say I have been completely victorious in my grappling either. I certainly can't say that I now fully understand God's sovereignty. However I can say that I understand it better, and I don't use the word sovereignty as flippantly as before.

This past Wednesday was our final lesson in the series and probably the most challenging to think through, not just for me but for the students as well. In previous weeks we have discussed the fact that God is in control, He is all-knowing, and He is all-powerful. This week we looked at the idea that God is all-loving. I asked the students to really try to think about what that means...God is all-loving. I asked them to try as much as possible to set aside all of their previous thoughts, assumptions and biases on this topic and try to really come at it, as much as possible, from a blank viewpoint. I asked them what that means...God is all-loving. Does that mean that He loves all? Stop and think about that question. Does God love all? Does He love all animals...even mosquitos, rats or spiders? Does He love all plants...even briars, poison ivy and seaweed? What about Satan and the demons? Does God love them? What about all people? Does God love ALL people? If you are like me then you quickly respond with an emphatic "YES, of course He loves all people". But is that true? And more importantly, why do I think it is true? Did He love the criminal on the cross next to Him that mocked and rebuked Him? We know He loved the one and assured him of a place in heaven, but did He actually love the other man? What about the coming antichrist. Does/will God love him? He is, after all, the "anti" christ or the opposite/against christ. What about Romans 9:13 which quotes God as saying "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." (a reference to Malachi 1:2-3).

Two of the greatest components of God's demonstrated love to us is seen in His mercy and His grace. Does God give His grace and mercy to all people equally? Scripture seems to be full of examples where God did choose some and not others to receive His mercy and grace. He chose Israel over the other people groups of the day...and certaibly not because of any obvious merit on their part. He chose Jacob as the recepient of his favor and not Esau. In John 5:1-9 Jesus chose to heal one invalid man among many. He could have healed them all but He healed only one. Why? He raised Lazarus from the dead. Why didn't He raise all people? Romans 9:15 says that He will have mercy on who He chooses to have mercy.

I certainly would not say that God does not love all people, but I do believe we need to think about that issue. If we believe that He does love all people...is it because we just think He has to, in order to be a good God? That is a problem if we do think that way, because then we are the ones dictating to God how He must act. At that point we have taken His sovereignty away and placed it on ourselves. If God were to choose to love some and not others...He would be justified in that because He is sovereign. I encourage you parents to talk with your students about this idea of God's sovereignty...spend some time with them wrestling through this concept. Spend some time wrestling on your own with it. It is more than a worthwhile topic to wrestle with.