"For it is not true that some Christians believe in divine sovereignty while others hold an opposite view. What is true is that all Christians believe in divine sovereignty, but some are not aware they do, and mistakenly imagine and insist that they reject it. What causes this odd state of affairs? The root cause is the same a sin most cases of error in the Church - the intruding of rationalistic speculations, the passion for systematic consistency, a reluctance to recognize the existence of mystery and to let God be wiser than men, and a consequent subjecting of Scripture to the supposed demands of human logic."
J I Packer - Evangelism & The Sovereignty Of God
Finished Pascal and started reading Packer. I find this much easier to wrap my mind around; I am almost relieved to be moving on. Need to finish this book before I start reading for the next seminary class. This q
uote struck me in that I have always been suspicious (since I became a Christian that is) of man's attempts to put God in a box instead of leaving Him in the book He wrote for us. I struggle in class at times with those theories and systems that seem all too man-made and not enough God honoring.I worry about attempts to explain God too fully, which in my mind goes beyond our natural inquisitiveness and winds smack dab in the middle of a heart of pride. He is divine and incomprehensible to the finite mind; He is depths no one can fathom or plumb to their full extent. We try too hard to accomplish what we can never achieve - a full understanding of God. Fortunately, He has a full understanding of us and permits these feeble attempts without letting them diminish His love for us.
So I try to focus on Him rather than trying to master Him, I try to stay out of His way. I need to understand a good deal about God so as to understand how to live my life faithfully to His will, but I do not need to fully comprehend Him to do so. To try is the height of pride and foolishness.
As a result, it would be better to first approach a brother and sister in Christ looking for that common element of faith in Him; salvation through Him alone, trust in Him not self; than to try to haggle over those man-made systems and differences we throw out to defend our own prideful positions.
Get on The Narrow Road and stay out of His way.
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