What Comes First? Acts 13:48b-49 ...and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. Thoughts for Today: This is something that I’ve delt with for many years and seen many a Christian show their righteous anger over. Now, what comes first the chicken or the egg? Did God appoint me for eternal life therefore I believed? Or did God know I would believe therefore He appointed me for eternal life? Or did God give me my unique set of experiences knowing that it all would lead to my choice for Jesus? Or, or, or, or.... As you can tell this argument can go on forever, become quite complex and labyrinth, yet despite exhaustive study and discussion, we will never fully know the answer to this question -- only the Lord really knows. This question of divine appointment is only one of many complex theoretical issues about which Christians have argued for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. Many of these same questions have divided Christians into differing sects (Catholics and Protestants); denominations (Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, etc.); and even led to wars. Sometimes you have to stop and ask yourself if it is the Lords desire for us to argue about these finer points of the faith. What do you think? I think healthy discussion and even disagreement is indeed the Lords will, otherwise He would have left no doubt about His meaning regarding a variety of debatable topics. These differing opinions have led to some pretty amazing revivals throughout the years -- take some time and read about Martin Luther and John Wesley to name only two; or heroes of the faith in our own lifetimes like Billy Graham and Martin Luther King. The common thread you will find is their willingness to challenge existing traditions -- going back to the source -- The Bible -- while asking, What does this mean to me today and to this generation? The Lords answer has always been pretty amazing. Questions to Ponder: Have you locked yourself into a particular belief structure that has put you at odds with fellow Christians? Is it a healthy debate or has it turned angry and ugly? Are you making a fine point of faith more important than the Lord intended? Sometimes we just want to be right when only the Lord knows the right answer -- what came first the chicken or the egg? Is it worth going to war over? Or, are revivals more about the ability to think freely rather than follow traditional thought processes?
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 03:39:25 +0000
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