What do you think about this Signposts for the Journey newsletter? I have a poll that would help me as I make plans for the Fall. I have some ideas but I need your input. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts so I can meet your needs and expand the readership. Thanks! ~~Larry
I have heard many times the country wisdom that says, “I don’t know what the future holds but I know who holds the future.”
I don’t believe that. I think we can have a better life if we find a new piece of wisdom about the future.
Some religions teach that God holds the future because God controls what will happen in the next minute, the next day, and even the next millennium. To hold the future means that a divine plan is in place that has already determined the events and choices of every part of the universe.
For example, if I am injured in a car accident, it is God who controlled every factor—the car, the other driver, my reactions — that caused the accident. Even more, God has determined whether the treatments will make me healthy again or not. Finally, God has already chosen whether I will go to Heaven or Hell after I die.
I believe something different about God. I believe God’s essential nature is love, a love so pure that it works for the well-being of everyone. Pure love does not coerce or control the one who is loved. Further, every creature has some degree of freedom to choose what is thought and done in each moment of life. All are co-creators of what happens today and tomorrow.
Think about Jesus, the one who revealed the greatest truths about God. Jesus didn’t force the disciples to follow him. He invited them to join his little group. Peter could have stayed with his fishing nets and Matthew with his tax collection business. These men saw what Jesus was doing and they decided to go with him.
I like the way theologian Bruce Epperly puts it, “God’s power is persuasive and invitational, a call forward, as the source of possibilities and ideals appropriate to every occasion of experience… the future is open for God as well as us… God needs us to be partners in God’s dream of world transformation.”[1]
This open future is alive with possibility. We are not puppets on God’s strings. Instead, we share with God the challenge and responsibility of what happens today.
The openness of tomorrow is our privilege and responsibility. You and I can choose how we will handle the possibilities before us. Kristi Nelson invites us to feel what this means by saying, “The unknown future is the most inspiring invitation we can possibly hope for.”[2]
I have some control over whether I will have a car accident. I have some control over whether I will regain health. And I have some control over my eternal destiny. God, in love, influences every nanosecond of this process toward the best possible outcome.
I’m guessing you don’t really agree with that country wisdom of God holding and controlling the future. Frankly, no one can hold the future in a controlling grasp. That is impossible and against the very essence of love.
Let’s have a saying with greater wisdom to help us.
I think we should say, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that God and I can live it together.”
We can be grateful that we are intertwined with God to make tomorrow the best it can be. We can live those days with God in love.
Try this: before you get out of bed tomorrow, name one choice in front of you today and ask, “God, what might we make of this together?” That single question turns tomorrow from a fate to be endured into a future you help create.
[1] Bruce Epperly, Praying with Process Theology: Spiritual practices for personal and planetary healing. River Lane Press, 2017.
[2] Kristi Nelson, Wake Up Grateful: the transformational practice of taking nothing for granted. Storey Publishing, 2022.
Your opinion will help me improve Signposts. Please select one of the answers. Thank you!
I do not believe a zygote or an embryo is a full human person. I think my opinion is supported scientifically and in primary Biblical teachings. But a small group is attempting to rewrite a fundamental distinction in the lawbooks—and Christian doctrine.
Here’s a good summary and discussion by Risa Cromer from the Religious News Service.
It’s summer, the traditional time to relax, take a break, or unwind. What activity is your go-to, what you would do if you felt the pressures growing and had to make some mental space. But you can’t take a trip to somewhere else. Some people take a walk, others watch a favorite show, or grab a bite to eat with friends.
Take some time in your journal to answer the question and why this means so much for you right now.
Thanks for reading this issue of Signposts! I hope you’ve found something meaningful for your best life.
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