Hi Sherri,

Sorry, I didn't think anyone read this, so I was using that last entry to remind myself of an idea.

What I had in mind was that there are different things that we can attach ourselves to. For example, many people have a favorite sports team. It's interesting that the same player who is a hero when he is on a team becomes a villain when on another team.

So what is the highest form of loyalty? Is it loyalty to a person, a concept, an entity such as a nation, company, team, etc.? 

Perhaps we can examine the question by looking at the factors that would cause one to break one's loyalty from its object.

Through a discussion with a friend regarding God’s sovereignty, he remarked that the idea that God had foreordained (or predestined) all events led to fatalism. I remarked that it was all a matter of perspective. What do you think?

I believe that the sovereignty of God over all acts is well established. For example, believers are chosen “in Him before the foundation of the world.” Eph. 4:1. Setting aside the rather bankrupt idea of Open Theism, God’s omniscience is generally accepted within orthodoxy.

But then comes the objection that if God has foreordained all actions, then wither free will? There is a tendency to set these ideas in an uncomfortable tension against one another and to conclude that God must work this out somehow, but that it is beyond us. But perhaps we can at least have a little understanding.

First, the ideas are not diametrically opposed. An opposing idea would be a forced action. Someone can be forced into an activity that he or she does not desire to do. On the other hand, an action can, at the same time, be the result of the operation of free will, and also foreordination. I might offer a bottle of water to a thirsty football player. By my action, I determine the player’s subsequent action, yet the player also acts according to their free will.

Now we can address the idea of fatalism. The traditional meaning attached to fatalism is that things come to pass according to a blind necessity, and serve no final purpose. But today, we often use fatalism to express the idea that nothing we do matters, since everything has already been determined, and nothing that we can do will change that one iota. The Moerae have already selected the thread.

Now it is true that all that God has ordained will come to pass. Here is where perspective holds the key. From a human perspective, we feel that predestination has robbed us of significance, since we are guided by the desire to have significance in and of ourselves. However, God desires us to see things from His perspective. That is why He has given us His Word. We needed no help in seeing things from a human oriented perspective, it is part of our natures. However, through the Scriptures, we have open to us the opportunity to see things through His perspective. What might that look like?

Consider a fellow who meets a young lady that he finds that he likes. Really, really, really likes. In fact, she makes all the ideals of what he has been looking for completely shoddy in comparison. Now suppose he finds out through her friends that she admires him and is really hoping that he would ask her for a date. Do you think he would now have both motivation and assurance to do so? We have already shown that free will and foreordination are compatible. Now we can add to that the assurance that our actions are directed toward the best possible result – the result that God has ordained. Predestination from a biblical perspective is not a cause for despair, but motivation to choose to act for a purpose determined by a God having infinite wisdom and love.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
        Whom shall I fear?
        The LORD is the strength of my life;
        Of whom shall I be afraid? 
        When the wicked came against me
        To eat up my flesh,
        My enemies and foes,
        They stumbled and fell. 
        Though an army may encamp against me,
        My heart shall not fear;
        Though war may rise against me,
        In this I will be confident. 

        One thing I have desired of the LORD,
        That will I seek:
        That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
        All the days of my life,
        To behold the beauty of the LORD,
        And to inquire in His temple. 
        For in the time of trouble
        He shall hide me in His pavilion;
        In the secret place of His tabernacle
        He shall hide me;
        He shall set me high upon a rock. 

        And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
        Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
        I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. 

        Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
        Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 
        When You said, "Seek My face,"
        My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek." 
        Do not hide Your face from me;
        Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
        You have been my help;
        Do not leave me nor forsake me,
        O God of my salvation. 
        When my father and my mother forsake me,
        Then the LORD will take care of me. 

        Teach me Your way, O LORD,
        And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. 
        Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
        For false witnesses have risen against me,
        And such as breathe out violence. 
        I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
        That I would see the goodness of the LORD
        In the land of the living. 

        Wait on the LORD;
        Be of good courage,
        And He shall strengthen your heart;
        Wait, I say, on the LORD!