Tuesday, June 8 at 12:15 PM
my dad rocks. he is just so freakin' smart. and he tells the best stories...'cause he's pretty much been everywhere and done everything.
today at lunch he "randomly" starts filling me in on how so many seemingly small decisions had huge impacts on his life. he was relating how he was teaching at golden gate and a church had called him to be the pastor. everyone was on board and excited. and then the deacons had to vote on things. my dad was probably around 40 at the time...and still single. so, the chairman of the deacons decided that he thought it was unbiblical for a single man to be pastor ("husband of one wife" and all). okay. and dad says to me "well, that's a good thing, otherwise you wouldn't be here. at least not as we know it." soon after, he was offered a job in nashvegas...a job he really didn't think he wanted, but knew he needed to take...and you can probably guess what happened next. enter hot, younger woman. pursuit. marriage. and a few years later...well, i came along.
now, here's what came to mind as dad was talking...relating back to some challenging questions that mcd asked yesterday. the deacon dude's opinion had to be frustrating to many...everyone else was ready to call dad to this church. and some people might even say the church's decision was a mistake. but...didn't that "mistake" lead my dad exactly where God wanted to take him? i believe it did. and that means that God uses choices that may seem wrong or even unbiblical in order to fulfill His purposes.
i'm not even going to pretend like i understand how that works exactly...because when you really think it all the way through, it means that God's will includes sin, mistakes, and wrongdoing. and that goes against the commonly held view that God's will is all goodness, all right, all the time. but if He knew all of our sin before He created us, and He knew how He would work out His plan in our lives, then that says to me that His will includes all those things. it's one of those concepts i'll never be able to grasp, one of those isaiah 55:9 things...and that is comforting to me. i mean, if i could figure God out, He wouldn't be God...
today at lunch he "randomly" starts filling me in on how so many seemingly small decisions had huge impacts on his life. he was relating how he was teaching at golden gate and a church had called him to be the pastor. everyone was on board and excited. and then the deacons had to vote on things. my dad was probably around 40 at the time...and still single. so, the chairman of the deacons decided that he thought it was unbiblical for a single man to be pastor ("husband of one wife" and all). okay. and dad says to me "well, that's a good thing, otherwise you wouldn't be here. at least not as we know it." soon after, he was offered a job in nashvegas...a job he really didn't think he wanted, but knew he needed to take...and you can probably guess what happened next. enter hot, younger woman. pursuit. marriage. and a few years later...well, i came along.
now, here's what came to mind as dad was talking...relating back to some challenging questions that mcd asked yesterday. the deacon dude's opinion had to be frustrating to many...everyone else was ready to call dad to this church. and some people might even say the church's decision was a mistake. but...didn't that "mistake" lead my dad exactly where God wanted to take him? i believe it did. and that means that God uses choices that may seem wrong or even unbiblical in order to fulfill His purposes.
i'm not even going to pretend like i understand how that works exactly...because when you really think it all the way through, it means that God's will includes sin, mistakes, and wrongdoing. and that goes against the commonly held view that God's will is all goodness, all right, all the time. but if He knew all of our sin before He created us, and He knew how He would work out His plan in our lives, then that says to me that His will includes all those things. it's one of those concepts i'll never be able to grasp, one of those isaiah 55:9 things...and that is comforting to me. i mean, if i could figure God out, He wouldn't be God...