Was I predestined to write this?
My mom was visiting recently and asked me about predestination. Not exactly normal breakfast conversation. Actually this is not an unusual discussion between me and my mother. We have talked about religion for many years. Mom asked me because a friend gave her some quotes from the Bible (Romans 8:29f and Ephesians 1:4f) and was very confused by them. She asked if everything we do has already been predestined from the beginning by God, then how can we be judged when we sin? This is a fair question, and one that has been asked by many people through the ages. Mom brought me the quotes and said her friend wanted me to try and answer it. This was my reply – God is the wise parent who sees her young child playing in the corner with finger paints. This parent can see exactly what is going to happen – paint all over the place. It will be on her child, on the floor, on the walls. But this wise parent will not step in and prevent this looming disaster. She will allow her child to make her own choices and learn from the experiences. God is the wise parent who sees all and knows all but still allows us to make our own decisions.
In the very beginning of The Urantia Book it says that God is absolute; beginning-less, endless, timeless and space-less (2.7). The book says that with God there is not past, present or future – all time is present during any moment (34.5). This concept of God – which has been around on the earth for many thousands of years – is a pretty powerful argument for predestination. If God knows our futures then we don’t have real choices, do we? But it seems that we mistakenly understand God’s timeless existence to mean that the execution of our material existence is already planned out. The Urantia Book disputes this notion.
The Urantia Book teaches us that God’s sovereign will over the universe does not take away our free will actions. It argues that the divinely providential activity of the universe does not mean that God has already decided everything in advance (1304.3). In other words, even though everything will eventually work out for the best – God has not ordained every detail of every moment of the universe. God certainly has foreknowledge of our actions, but that is because our actions are limited (1300.6). Just as the wise parent above knows the mess her child will make, the limitless Father in Heaven can see what direction our decisions are leading us. Compared to God our choices are limited – and they lead us either towards a relationship with our Heavenly Father or away. When a Thought Adjuster comes into relationship with one of us they come with a predetermined plan for our spiritual development (1204.5). But we don’t have to say yes to the plan. The fragment of God within us is always subject to our free will. And the fact that we can say no to God – the fact that we can choose iniquity – proves that we truly are free (1301.2).
Do we really understand what the word free means? Most of us assume it means we can do whatever we want. But this simple definition makes no sense. If I am truly free I can hurt someone with impunity. I can make other people suffer. I can take away someone’s life simply because I want to and I am free. We see the abuse of so called freedom everyday. I think our misunderstanding of this word is due to our living on a planet that is so full of sin. We equate freedom with the idea that we are not going to be abused or controlled by someone else. The Urantia Book says that the more we attune our will with God’s will the more free we become (1301.6). This sounds like God is controlling us – as in the phrase “not my will, but yours be done.” But a better understanding is the positive affirmation; “it is my will that your will be done” (1221.8). And doing the will of our Heavenly Father does not mean we are limiting ourselves. On the contrary, the future with God is unlimited. The Urantia Book teaches us that God has infinite action – ultimate freedom. When we choose to align our will with God’s we participate in divine freedom. The closer we come to divine perfection, the more possibilities open up for us! As I said earlier, if we equate freedom with license we are heading in the wrong direction. But if we equate freedom with God’s predestination for our existence we are opening up a universe of possibilities.
I wonder if God saw in the beginning of time my mom’s question about predestination? I wonder what it means that God is not limited by time. I wonder a lot of things. I do know one thing - even if God saw me writing this essay before I was born – I was the one who sat down and got it done.
God bless you,
William Whitehead
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