But It’s Human
To Be Curious
The Bible plainly states that God has foreknowledge. He knows what is going to happen before it actually happens and from a human perspective, we are fascinated by that.
We understand the concept but can’t possibly relate to that reality. We can fiddle with the idea philosophically but that’s it, and that’s kind of the point of this post. No human can know with certainty what is going to happen even in the next five minutes much less a year or more from now.
Other than conceptual awareness, foreknowing is completely beyond the sphere of human experience.
We might have an idea, even a good idea, how things will pan out but the difference between that kind of anticipation and knowing absolutely is light-years.
We can know the odds of winning but anyone promising a definite win is either lying or manipulating the circumstances.
When it comes to the future, humans are only capable of imprecise predictive knowledge. We are curious. God is neither imprecise nor predictive nor curious. He’s prophetic.
Our expectations are based on analysis, investigation, reasoning, and are largely influenced by hope. God is all-knowing. His rational capacities are never spent trying to figure out why things happen the way they do.
Humans anticipate multiple possibilities and plan for each one as best they can. We hope for desired outcomes but there’s always a degree of mystery. Nothing is guaranteed. That’s not a space God lives in.
What we don’t do, or at least shouldn’t do, is forget about the future and we shouldn’t just wait for it either.
The future is what helps us get over the past.
But what I’ve described so far is what humans experience. God does none of that.
God doesn’t make predictions because He already knows the outcome. He never spends time hoping for anything.
He knows what’s going to happen, to whom it will happen, how it will affect each person, and how we’ll respond. He knows all that. He knows exactly what our capabilities are and He knows what we’ll do to develop them and how effective we’ll be in using them.
He knows what the possibilities are and He knows how the possibilities will play out. It’s hard to get your head around that.
Involved VS Intervening
God is involved. He created the universe in which we live and the universe doesn’t operate hands-free.
Gravity, weather cycles, biochemical reactions are created and maintained by God. He maintains them continuously but He doesn’t micromanage our responses to these facts once we discover them.
I can know what foods I should eat but God doesn’t make me eat them. He doesn’t plan the menu, cook the meals, or make me sit at the table till my plate is clean.
God doesn’t force the issue.
I can choose not to breathe and God won’t intervene if I make that choice, but I can’t change the fact that I need oxygen. [Read more…] about Foreknowledge Is God’s Domain