I've addressed this question in the past (for instance, here and here): "Is this the best of all possible worlds?" Most of us—believers and unbelievers alike—can quickly picture ways the world could be "better." But for this post I'm mainly speaking to fellow Christians. Scripture warns us that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9). So we should be cautious about trusting our instincts when we define "better." When I use the word best, I don't mean "most comfortable" or "least painful"; I mean best for God's wise purposes and, for His people, for our ultimate good. Still, even believers can feel the pushback when I suggest that this world—right now—is, in an important sense, the best possible. After all, there's sin. Wouldn't it be better if there were no sin? And what about natural disasters, suffering, and the inevitability of death? Those don't feel like "best," do they?
A helpful starting point is the word possible. Christians know Heaven is coming—a world without tears, without death, without sin. In that ultimate sense, a "better world" is not only possible; it's promised. The more focused question is whether a better world is possible now, given what God is doing in history. In other words: if there were a genuinely better version of today that would better accomplish God's wise purposes, wouldn't a good, loving, all-powerful God bring that about? That question only works if we assume what Scripture teaches about God—that He is sovereign, perfectly good, and omniscient. If that's true, then what He permits in the present is not random or accidental. It is the world He has chosen to govern as the best means to His intended ends—our real good and His glory. Paul puts it like this: "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28). All things. So, if that statement is true, then for this moment—this stage of God's plan—this is the best world that is possible in the sense that it perfectly fits what God is accomplishing right now.
So, is this the best of all possible worlds—period? Of course not. Heaven is on our horizon, and that will be best in every way. But within our current existence—our current "possibility," under God's present governance—is this the best world now? I'd suggest it is, precisely because God is sovereign and able to intend good even through what others intend for evil (Gen. 50:20). Saying this doesn't make evil less evil, and it doesn't remove grief. It does, however, change what we do with our suffering. For believers with a sovereign God, trials and hardships aren't surprises; they're part of the terrain. And if we can trust that God is at work at all times, bringing His good purposes to pass, then we can have real comfort—and a protection from despair—knowing God is with us and, in His own way, reminding us: "It's okay. I've got this."
7 comments:
“… [W]ithin our current existence—our current ‘possibility,’ under God's present governance—is this the best world now?” Yes. Things are exactly as God wishes them to be for His purposes; it would be illogical to think overwise, if one believes God is sovereign, with a plan that will not be thwarted. We have talked before about how God has no “Plan B”; He doesn’t need it. Why would He? He does all things perfectly from the beginning.
Having said that, however, I do not feel that everything that humans do and experience on earth is within God’s perfect will. He lets us suffer the consequences of our choices and behavior. However, I believe He executes His plan in spite of our missteps, working them into His plan--i.e. working around sin and its repercussions. That is part of His redemptive work--particularly (but not exclusively) for His children. In other words, the fact that something happened doesn’t mean it was automatically then God’s will. In one sense, everything that happens is God’s will (the overall, big picture), but in another sense not everything that happens is God’s will but yet within His will. There are things He permits but did not ordain. (I have examples in mind, of course, but it’s probably not necessary to offer any.)
(I realize I am not expressing any novel thoughts here, and I hope I have not missed your point.)
You've expressed "the norm." God ... makes do with what we've done. You say it's not His "perfect will" and I would absolutely concur ... because I believe God has more than one form of "will." God commands things ... "His will" ... and they aren't carried out, so it's not "His will." God desires things (like repentance, etc.), and they aren't carried out, so it's not "His will." God has what theologians refer to His "perfect will" by which they mean all He commands and all He desires, but recognize He doesn't necessarily obtain that will. Thus, we have what is called His "Sovereign will" or His "Decretive will" ... that which He decrees and, therefore, will absolutely occur. It's all good.
I disagree with the idea that He's working around our missteps at least in the sense that most people mean it. When Joseph referred to the evil his brothers did, he said, "You intended it for evil" (Gen 50:20). That means that their purpose in doing it before they did it was for evil. But Joseph went on to say, "But God intended it for good." That would require that God knew it was coming and approved it in advance because it fit His good purposes. It can be said, in that sense, that it is ordained. If God merely allowed evil and mopped up after it, we still have the problem of evil. He should have stopped it. So He permits actively what is part of His providential plan and that is a mode of ordination. He permits what He intends to happen without causing it, and that's a form of ordination. (And I DO believe that God often prevents evil/bad things when they aren't part of His will.)
Can you really call yourself a Christian if you believe there could have been a better way, a better world? A world without suffering is a world of us not knowing better. Christians like to chalk up this world to our free will interfering. But that's not what the Bible seems to indicate. The Fall was the original plan, in order to make vessels of wrath, destined for destruction, and vessels of mercy, destined for redemption, through the sacrifice of Christ in the cross. If you think you could come up with a better plan, you should renounce Christianity as the evil machinations of a dispassionate and uncaring God.
Yes, I was thinking of the different wills of God; I believe that God’s “Permissive will” shall not thwart His “Decretive will” but will be “folded in” within His overall plan--even those cases where His “Revealed will” is not followed. For example: (1) It was not God’s will that my former supervisor at Princeton University act in an unkind and unfair manner towards others, including her immediate subordinate, causing me to resign and abruptly end my career; His will was that she be a good boss and treat others decently. Yet He permitted her sin and its aftermath within the plan of my life. (2) It is not God’s will that my daughter’s marriage ends in divorce--for He hates divorce; yet He has permitted my son-in-law’s sin and its aftermath within the plan of her life (she is not a believer, so she won’t be looking for God’s Hand in all this the same way I would).
What you are describing in your second paragraph is exactly how I see God “working [our missteps] into His plan.” Being all-powerful and endlessly resourceful and possessing foreknowledge, God has no difficulty incorporating any and all events into His plan. Therefore, God permits the occurrence of “evil” (i.e. on the part of Joseph’s brothers, in your example, or the missteps I mentioned) because He will work it all together for “good” within His overall plan. In the course of doing that, I believe, He does “mop up” after us and our messes--again, as part of His redemptive work--but that “mopping up” is not an easily discernible or comprehensible process--i.e. we will most likely not be cognizant of His behind-the-scenes work.
You wrote, “(And I DO believe that God often prevents evil/bad things when they aren't part of His will.)” I assume that is true as well, although I realize I cannot know something like that definitively. In fact, one might ask why God would do so, if it is His nature and His practice to use “evil” for His “good” purposes. Clearly, there is a limit to how much “evil” He will permit in this world--not because His abilities have limits but because our endurance does.
I can think of a direct Biblical example of God directly preventing evil, when He stopped the king from sleeping with Sarah so that he would not commit evil against her. Do yes, God prevents evil where it will interfere with His Sovereign Will. I don't believe there is any "mopping up", as that implies there was a better way that God needed to clean up after the fact. Our "misteps" aren't oopsies that God needs to fix, but are part of His Sovereign plan to accomplish His good plan in us.
David, once again, I apologize that I am not clear on this: Is your comment directed to me specifically (since I first mentioned “missteps”), to Stan (since he first mentioned “mopping up”), or made in general (since both Stan and I mentioned preventing evil)? I don’t want to misconstrue and reply in error.
With the posting delay, I will go ahead and assume that David was answering my comment(s) above and will offer some thoughts in reply. I realize that today’s post wasn’t directly about God’s will, but I couldn’t consider the topic of “this current world” without acknowledging that God’s Permissive, Decretive, and Revealed wills are all in play here and now--but in different ways. We can recognize and analyze His plan for the earthly human experience as it unfolds behind us, but as finite beings, we won’t necessarily comprehend God’s various wills within that unfolded plan. I think it is easy to misconstrue His Permissive and Decretive wills (and mistake one for the other), but all I can really know for sure is God’s Revealed will (as revealed in His Word).
I agreed with Stan that God undoubtedly prevents much evil (how the fourth plane on 9/11 was kept from its target in Washington, D.C., as just one small example), but I realize that I can’t presume to envision what would be in or out of His will or whether we are seeing His Permissive or His Decretive wills playing out. For example, David mentioned God’s preemptive action regarding Sarah and the king, but then I thought of how God did not similarly stop David from hooking up with Bathsheba (which led to both her husband and then their baby dying). One dalliance was prevented (“out of His will”), while the other was permitted (“in His will”? hardly!). (There are numerous biblical examples along these lines, of course--and no doubt within the life plans of each of us.)
I stated in my first comment above that God does all things perfectly; however, we do not. By “missteps,” I am referring to our sins and blunders as fallen human beings. I do not see any good reason to dismiss either the reality of those missteps on our part or our need for God’s help to recover and rebound from them. Yes, our mess-ups (i.e. misstepping His Revealed will) become part of His plan for us (within His Permissive will, rather than His Decretive will). Precisely because our choices have repercussions, they need God’s touch to ensure a positive outcome (Rom. 8:28); otherwise, they are mere bumps in the road with no redeeming value in our earthly experience--bringing neither good to us nor glory to God.
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