Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
A seminarian was
sleeping during class; so the professor slammed his hand on the desk and
screamed this question, "So what do you think about it? How can the
Bible say we have volition yet are predestined?"
The startled
fellah blurted, "I knew yesterday but forgot."
The professor
lamented, "What a pity. The only man who knew and he forgot."
@#$%
One of the most
annoying paradoxes of Biblical faith - two Biblical truths in apparent
contradiction that have generated more heat than light in classrooms, assembly
halls, small groups, coffee conversations, and wherever two or three are not
always gathered in His name - is we have volition yet are predestined; or
changing it around to the same conclusion, we are predestined yet free to
choose.
Moses and Joshua
urged, "Choose life...Choose who you will serve..."
Jesus said,
"I stand at the door of your heart. You must decide if you will open
the door..."
Volition.
Paul concluded,
"For those God foreknew, He also predestined."
Predestination.
Putting the
paradox together, Paul admitted with gratitude for God's providential care of
those who trust Him here and now and forever, "We are confident that God
is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful
when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan."
We have volition
yet are predestined.
We are
predestined yet free to choose.
Whatever way we
look at it/Him, it doesn't sound logical; which, of course, reminds us that He
is Source, Starter, Sovereign, and Savior and we are not.
Fortunately, as
the Psalmist applauds Him, God as Source, Starter, Sovereign, and Savior works
through the paradox for our benefit: "I was young and now I am old, yet I
have never seen the righteous forsaken."
Though fully
grasping this paradox is out of our reach, a celebrating sense is God's
predestination is always positive for those who trust Him; yet there is the
sobering sense that we are completely responsible for the consequences of our
volition or freedom to choose for good, bad, or...
Really, I don't
get it/Him.
All I get is it's
always best to trust Him and pray and labor to do the right thing as modeled by
Jesus in the manual of Holy Scripture.
@#$%
The story of
Esther comes to mind.
She was
predestined for her moment in His
story ("...made queen for such a time as this...") yet
she had to choose to be used for her moment in His story ("I will join you...I will
go...If I die, then I die!").
Let's go to the
story that illustrates the paradoxical mystery.
It reads like a
gothic novel, soap opera, or new mini-series for FX or AMC.
The incumbent
Queen Vashti disobeys an order from her husband King Xerxes to be paraded
around like a trophy wife, loses her crown, and a Persian beauty contest is
held to find her successor.
The young and
beautiful Jew Esther beats out the other contestants, wins the king's heart,
and becomes queen.
Older cousin
Mordecai, who had adopted Esther after her parents died, is a big part of the
story because he told Esther not to divulge her ethnicity because of Persian prejudices
epitomized in the story's scoundrel Haman who was "promoted to a rank
above all his fellow nobles" and ordered Mordecai to bow down before him
in homage. While Mordecai worked for the government and thwarted an
assassination conspiracy against the king by two eunuchs who "were angry
over some matter," his faith as a Jew prohibited him from showing such
worshipful deference to anyone in keeping with the first few commandments of
the big ten.
This infuriated
Haman so much that he decided to knock off Mordecai along with every other Jew
in the empire: "Haman wasn't to be satisfied with killing only
Mordecai..."
Never
underestimate the bloodlust of people who hate people who love God.
When Esther
caught wind of how Haman had tricked the king into issuing a death penalty for
all Jews, predestination ("...made queen for such a time as this...")
and volition ("I will join you...I will go...If I die, then I die!")
merged as she risked her life by approaching the king without invitation ("...any
person who approaches the king...without being invited is sentenced to
death. That's the law!") to gain attention as the first step to
intervening on behalf of Mordecai and exposing Haman's evil character.
It worked:
"The king was pleased when he noticed Queen Esther...[He asked]...'What is
your request? I'll give you anything...all you need to do is
ask...'"
Essentially, she
asked for two parties to set up Haman's demise before he could do any damage to
the Jews.
I said this story
reads like a gothic novel, soap opera, or new mini-series for FX or AMC!
And it gets even
more complicated as the king has a bad night between parties, can't sleep, goes
over some government papers, notices that he hasn't rewarded Mordecai for saving
his life, asks Haman what to give somebody who has done great service for the
king with Haman thinking the king is talking about him as he suggests a robe
and horse, and then orders Haman to take one of his robes and horses to
Mordecai to express his appreciation in a reversal of fortune as he is now
forced to pay homage to someone who wouldn't give it to him.
While I don't
know for sure, which is kinda like figuring out most gothic novels and soap
operas and mini-series on FX and AMC, the first party seems to have been set up
to keep Haman off guard while the second party is when Haman learns about the
consequences of messing with God's chosen people:
King: "What do you want, Queen Esther? I'm
willing
to give you anything."
Esther: "All I'm asking is for you to spare my life
and the lives of my people."
King: "Who has targeted your people?"
Esther: "The man responsible for these actions is
wicked Haman. He is vile, and the
enemy to
my people."
Report: "Haman has prepared a 75-foot pole for
execution...He was hoping to use it to
hang
Mordecai, the man who spoke up and saved
the king."
King: "Well, hang him on it!"
Report; "So they took Haman and killed him and
displayed him on the pole that he had
made
ready for Mordecai."
Esther had risked
her life to save her people as God's predestination and her volition came
together to honor Him and help her/His people.
@#$%
One last thought.
Esther is the
only book in the Bible that doesn't mention God by name; proving, as a
missionary once said, "A life lived for Jesus speaks louder than any
verbal testimony."
Let me put it
another way.
Esther shows how
behavior confirms belief and belief determines destiny.
Or as I once
heard, "What's deep in the well comes up in the bucket."
What a person
does is more convincing than what a person says.
Esther proves
being Godly can
be seen without being said.
@#$%
...to be continued...
@#$%
Blessings and Love!