dLog

"Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever." -Paul

31 May 2007

Not an Easy Answer

By Matt

I read Romans 9

Back many months ago when I started reading Romans my stated goal was to wrestle with the interpretations of, "I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the father except through me." However, I realized I got a little ways away from that in normal afocused dLogging, not a bad thing but I've spent so much time on Romans that I basically just forgot (it is supposed to be only 9 days after all, and it clearly has been much longer). But somehow I remembered the wrestling thing and, well, it's a good thing I did because Paul gives some pretty decisive answers to the whole issue in this chapter:
Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn't talk back to the fingers that mold it saying, "Why did you shape me like this?" Isn't it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery for especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn't that all right?
Well, Paul, seriously, could you be a little less implicit and ambiguous? ;) Seriously though, he's right (duh), but it's definitely not an easy answer to swallow. I'm not a person who has a tough time following authority, nor do I think that I unduly question authority all that much. But when I don't understand something I feel like I need answers. I will do what I'm told if I feel like I've been given a good enough reason, but I really chafe when I'm expected to do something that doesn't make sense to me or that I don't want to do and there's no explanation given. I'd say that 90% of the arguments I would get into with my parents stem from this one reason.

However, this is Paul saying, "Get over it." Yet, I don't think this makes the question of accepting Jesus here on earth open-and-shut case either. I mean, there's still the possibility of accepting Jesus after you're dead I suppose. What it does do is nix the argument that if God is a God of love, then he wouldn't damn anyone. I still have a hard time with it but it's just from my limited perspective I suppose. On the other hand, I don't see how anyone could read this chapter and not be a predestinationist. Thank God I'm a Presbyterian ;)

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