Lent Day 13 – Death of Sovereignty

Countless debates, splits and even wars have erupted out of deep arguments over the power, control and rule of God in the world. These atrocities occur over what is called the “sovereignty of God.” The work of God in the world is thought to be somewhat mysterious play between God’s determined control of history and man’s free will to determine his own way. One belief is that God has a specific plan that is being executed with laser-like precision and there is not much anyone can do about it. People say, “God is in control” and usually take some sort of strange solace is a god who is completely controlling and determines people in history, present and future. These people get super uptight when their view of God’s sovereignty comes into question. They see it as a direct offense to God and to themselves. Others proclaim that God has set the human will in motion and people determine their path and destiny while God is making adjustments on the fly. These people have a safe distance from God interrupting their day. They run the danger of a declawed and depersonalized version of God. The incredible problem I have with both camps is that they seem disconnected with everyday life, in time and place. They also seem to preoccupy themselves with an understanding about the actions of divinty that God refused to disclose. Even as I write this, I can anticipate people wildly protesting my “opinion” and striking me down as a heretic and wolf in sheep’s clothing leading other’s astray. But, I can’t back away from my conviction that when we consume ourselves trying to figure out the determined or undetermined actions of God in the human-story we have entered into an area that is off-limits. When Job questions God’s sovereignty, God refuses to be interrogated and refuses to give Job an answer. If anyone deserved an answer it was Job. The only answer he really got back from God is that, Job was the created and God was the Creator.

When I try to figure out the nature of God’s sovereignty I end up constructing an intellectual or cognitive structure that is nothing more than a theological Tower of Babel. It is an attempt to reach God apart from the time, place, bodies and Earth He has placed me in. I need to put to death my idea of God’s sovereignty in human history. The reason I need to do this is because the rule or reign of God is not as mysterious as I make it and it’s not as disconnected from my everyday life as it would seem. I need to be done figuring God out. I need to continue to encounter the God who is with me in the everyday comings and goings of life. I need a God who is with me in my morning drive and bedtime stories with the kids. I need a God who is with me in the struggles of connection with my wife and the laughter we share at our inside jokes. I need a God of Monday mornings and Friday nights. I need a God that is much more that a micromanager of history or a distant deity. When I stop to look around at the incredible power of creation around me, the laughter of my kids and the orange glowed sunset off the horizon of Chapman avenue I am in absolute awe. I don’t need to be convinced of God’s controlling power or distance “otherness.” And, when I’ve stopped trying to figure out what God is up to and how he does it and where it is all going I can open up much more room for childlike faith.

Ty, my 5 year old is wildly curious and has been in the “why” phase for about 3 years now. There are times I truly don’t have an answer for him. Other times, I know the answer I give him is far beyond what he could possibly understand. When it comes to really important matters of the heart, the most critical matter of life I often tell him, just trust me! God is real and at work. God is bigger and more than I could ever possibly conprehend. For me, this means God asks me to lay down all my figuring out and tightly constructed understanding of who He is and just trust Him. Today, in facing many questions, uncertainties and scary contradictions, my theological understanding of “God’s sovereignty” will only provide an intellectual quick-fix narcotic. It is a high that lasts for such a short time but will require more and more to achieve the same effect. Like a drug, I will only become more and more disconnected from the life in front of me. It will not sustain. Only faith and trust will sustain. Only a God who can show-up in real time, real place and real people will do. I will seek to move into greater trust above greater understanding.