Okay, I can't claim to be a prophet or immensely wise in biblical matters (even if I was, it would be extremely arrogant to advertise it so...). But occasionally, I do experience revelations regarding life questions , passages of the bible, Etc. And, since this is improtant to me personally, I thought, might as well share it; spreading the word of God and furthering His works is my main purpose and goal anyhow.
So, for the longest time, I have reasoned, based on the views of a certain humanities class of sorts (thank God for Ms. M) and The rhetorical works of dear Clive Staples Lewis, among other sources, all views of which I have accepted into my own, that God created humanity with free will for the purpose of having other, sentient, non-puppet beings to form relationships with. This is the reason for sin, and the cause of much good. This is the reason God created us. But, if this is one aspect of our being which He gave us a right to, and, because of it's very nature, can not and will not encroach upon, there is a disparity caused by passages such as this: "And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go." (Exodus 4:21 [KJV] [emphasis added])
Wait, so, God can harden our hearts? he can reach in our chests and turn flesh to granite, is that what you're saying? What happened to free will? What happened to the choice to sin or obey? Does that mean that people can get punished for actions they had no control over? That goes completely against God's principles--- he loves us, that's what he created us for, So that we may choose to love Him. And it doesn't just mean people who do what he asks of them, but everyone. Everyone. That means he doesn't just love the saint, but the sinner too; not just you or me (not to say either of us fall into other category), but the neighbor across the street who has loud parties at 3:00 in the morning, your teacher, your best friend, your worst enemy, the guy who stole an old lady's wallet, and, yes, the Pharaoh (not to mention all the people of Egypt who got to pay for Mr. Heart-of-Granite's antagonistic obstinence). What the heck man?!?
This one, believe it or not, troubled me for a long time. Pretty much since the day I read the verse, actually, so, since 3rd grade. Howeve, recently, I had a revelation and I think I finally figured it out (see what a little faith and patience can do?). And it was all thanks to this little jem of a passage here: "But though he [Jesus] had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: [40] He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. [this is a quote from Isaiah {though the verse is from John} explaining that this had been prophysized about before, but nobody really listened or understood when the events unfolded] [42] Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him , lest they should be put out of the synagogue: [43] For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:37,40, 42-43 [KJV])
Ooooohh, it all makes sense now! Just as God doesn't just change your attitude when it turns sour, he's not going to just coat your heart in ice to serve His purposes; He doesn't need to. If you make yourself usable, He'll use you. If not, He'll find a way, but never in a manner that overtakes your free will. Instead, he puts you in a situation that brings out result already writhing around in your soul. if you allowed His will to take over, he could just get rid of it and bend the situation in your favor; if Pharaoh had accepted Him by accepting His people and His messenger, then this wouldn 't have even come up. god would have found some other way to display His glory. But, since His people had been wronged and the Egyptians refused to change (He did give them at least a generation or two, right?) they needed to be taught a lesson-- don't mess with God's peeps, yo! (okay, that was silly, but seriously, don't.)
So, bottom line, God only uses what's in the heart already-- if it's good, then the individual will be bless, if it's bad, God will bring it forth. We certainly don't need any encouragement to be sinful, and God is fully aware of that.
Now, I'm sure there are some exceptions or loophole situations of some sort I didn't mention, but it's fine, that's how God operates-- breaking the rules while keeping them (amphibious fish anyone? Yes, they do exist! Look it up.). All I know, is that he never, ever, breaks His own rules without keeping them. He may make loopholes, but He never goes against his nature or back on His word. So if He made sentient beings instead of puppets, He's never going to try and make them puppets. He gave us a choice, and He's not going to take that away; it's up to us to make the right one, and not wait around for the offer to end.
So, for the longest time, I have reasoned, based on the views of a certain humanities class of sorts (thank God for Ms. M) and The rhetorical works of dear Clive Staples Lewis, among other sources, all views of which I have accepted into my own, that God created humanity with free will for the purpose of having other, sentient, non-puppet beings to form relationships with. This is the reason for sin, and the cause of much good. This is the reason God created us. But, if this is one aspect of our being which He gave us a right to, and, because of it's very nature, can not and will not encroach upon, there is a disparity caused by passages such as this: "And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go." (Exodus 4:21 [KJV] [emphasis added])
Wait, so, God can harden our hearts? he can reach in our chests and turn flesh to granite, is that what you're saying? What happened to free will? What happened to the choice to sin or obey? Does that mean that people can get punished for actions they had no control over? That goes completely against God's principles--- he loves us, that's what he created us for, So that we may choose to love Him. And it doesn't just mean people who do what he asks of them, but everyone. Everyone. That means he doesn't just love the saint, but the sinner too; not just you or me (not to say either of us fall into other category), but the neighbor across the street who has loud parties at 3:00 in the morning, your teacher, your best friend, your worst enemy, the guy who stole an old lady's wallet, and, yes, the Pharaoh (not to mention all the people of Egypt who got to pay for Mr. Heart-of-Granite's antagonistic obstinence). What the heck man?!?
This one, believe it or not, troubled me for a long time. Pretty much since the day I read the verse, actually, so, since 3rd grade. Howeve, recently, I had a revelation and I think I finally figured it out (see what a little faith and patience can do?). And it was all thanks to this little jem of a passage here: "But though he [Jesus] had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: [40] He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. [this is a quote from Isaiah {though the verse is from John} explaining that this had been prophysized about before, but nobody really listened or understood when the events unfolded] [42] Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him , lest they should be put out of the synagogue: [43] For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:37,40, 42-43 [KJV])
Ooooohh, it all makes sense now! Just as God doesn't just change your attitude when it turns sour, he's not going to just coat your heart in ice to serve His purposes; He doesn't need to. If you make yourself usable, He'll use you. If not, He'll find a way, but never in a manner that overtakes your free will. Instead, he puts you in a situation that brings out result already writhing around in your soul. if you allowed His will to take over, he could just get rid of it and bend the situation in your favor; if Pharaoh had accepted Him by accepting His people and His messenger, then this wouldn 't have even come up. god would have found some other way to display His glory. But, since His people had been wronged and the Egyptians refused to change (He did give them at least a generation or two, right?) they needed to be taught a lesson-- don't mess with God's peeps, yo! (okay, that was silly, but seriously, don't.)
So, bottom line, God only uses what's in the heart already-- if it's good, then the individual will be bless, if it's bad, God will bring it forth. We certainly don't need any encouragement to be sinful, and God is fully aware of that.
Now, I'm sure there are some exceptions or loophole situations of some sort I didn't mention, but it's fine, that's how God operates-- breaking the rules while keeping them (amphibious fish anyone? Yes, they do exist! Look it up.). All I know, is that he never, ever, breaks His own rules without keeping them. He may make loopholes, but He never goes against his nature or back on His word. So if He made sentient beings instead of puppets, He's never going to try and make them puppets. He gave us a choice, and He's not going to take that away; it's up to us to make the right one, and not wait around for the offer to end.
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