Consider for a moment how one’s belief in freewill will affect the way he handles a tragic event, like a sudden death in the family. Pastor and theologian Gregory Boyd, who believes in freewill, comments,
I know Christians frequently speak about “the purpose of God” in the midst of a tragedy caused by someone else. There was a young girl this year at Bethel who was killed by a drunk driver, a lot of students were wondering what purpose God had in “taking her home.” But this I regard to simply be a piously confused way of thinking. The drunk driver alone is to blame for the girl's untimely death. The only purpose of God in the whole thing is His design to allow morally responsible people the right to decide whether to drink responsibly or irresponsibly.
If a Christian believes in freewill, then when a drunk driver takes an innocent life in an automobile accident, there ultimately was no purpose for this action. God was not in control. He could not have prevented the accident from taking place. The Arminian cannot say with Joseph, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Gen. 50:20). If we believe that God has given man a sovereign freewill, and that men can botch up God’s plans, then how can we embrace Paul’s confident assertion that, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”(Rom. 8:28)? Which is more comforting: to believe that God has given up control of his creatures and allows them to mess up his plans, or that God is in control of even the evil in the world, and that he is permitting it for a good purpose? After Calvinist John Piper’s mother was tragically killed, he wrote about how his belief in predestination consoled him. Contrast his approach to dealing with suffering and grief to that of Gregory Boyd:
On December 16, 1974, [God] did not save my mother’s life. She was riding with my father on a touring bus toward Bethlehem in Israel. A van with lumber tied on the roof swerved out of its lane and hit the bus head on. The lumber came through the windows and killed my mother instantly. . . . What was my comfort in those days? . . . [There was] the confidence that God is in control and God is good. I take no comfort from the prospect that God cannot control the flight of a four-by-four. For me there is no consolation in haphazardness. Nor in giving Satan the upper hand. As I knelt by my bed and wept, having received the dreaded phone call from my brother-in-law, I never doubted that God was good. I do not need to explain everything. That he reigns and that he loves is enough for now.
In times of crisis, a belief that God is in control brings comfort to the hurting saint. As Piper said, there is no comfort in haphazardness. But there is a deep well of consolation in the fact that nothing in the universe occurs outside of God’s purpose. We can trust God to be in control, and to work even evil events for the good of those who love him. The precious promises of God to ensure that everything works for the good according to his infallible purpose are guarded by the Biblical doctrine of predestination.
What a comfort it is to know that God is in total control of all things, whether they be four-by-fours, sparrows, hairs on heads, and grains of sand on ocean beaches.
There is nothing too large to overpower Him, nor too small to escape His notice. He is the sovereign Lord of all the universe.
It is interesting Steve. When my grandson drowned I was still an Arminian..I had no anger at God. Perhaps it is my age or my life’s experience. I believed that God was sovereign in matters of life and death.
It never occurred to me that his mom or her family were responsible for the tragedy.
I walked into the hospital that had hall and rooms filled with grieving family.(mom has a large family and they were all the. aunts ,cousins, other grand parents)
It was surreal. Have you every heard weeping and gnashing of teeth ? I have that da y.
I had such an inner peace. I was broken and in pain. Even now it brings tears to my eyes. But I knew that our God was God.
I entered the one waiting room where the mostly Catholic family was hysterical...I started to pray out loud. I gave God praise for Nathan’s life. I thanked God for allowing us the privilege of knowing and loving him.... I thanked Him for His mercy to us.
I asked for His peace and reconciliation.
As I prayed the words flowed out of my mouth, a little nun that had been trying to bring some order to the ER came and whispered in my ear "dear keep praying"
Steve God was there...and He was sovereign in even in the midst of horror and tragedy.
We sang a song at the funeral.” you are sovereign" as the words came out my hands went up. I believed that...God had numbered Nathan’s days and they were completed.
My Christian daughter in law sobbed over the lifeless body of her last baby...she kept saying that God was punishing her or that it was her fault.
At that moment I had no comfort as I held the two of them.
My heart KNEW the sovereignty of God, that gave me peace...but the poor child (mom) did not have that assurance. I kept telling her that God loved her. that this was not a punishment. That it was just an "accident" (hollow words ...that imply we have a distant God that protect some and not others)
It was strange Steve at that moment I knew the sovereignty of God, but I could not bring myself to mouth the words. I was afraid they would make God sound cruel
I pray that I never again have to witness such a moment of pain. But should I have to I will now have words to say. God has a purpose for every life and every event. the failure to acknowledge that is a sin. Nathan’s life and death were never without meaning.
It is interesting in many ways even my very Armenian kids acknowledge this in some ways
As we discuss Nathan now we speak in terms of how God has used it.(several family members have been converted since then) God has brought other families to them that have lost children. They can see God use the event and Natans death and their their pain for HIS glory , and the comfort of others. They can express that now .
Understanding that we have a God that cares for the lilies of the fields and the sparrow in the air. He is God!
Thank you for the article
I grew up in a Christian family. I attended church twice on Sundays about 90% of the time. I attended a private Christian school and a private Christian college. All my life I learned the Reformed faith. I had my 'saving' moment in high school, when it mostly came all togather. I made my profession of faith before the elders of my church and later before the congregation. I meant it then and I believed I understood what it all meant.
It wasn't until my senior year at Calvin College that it finally all made complete sense. And it came at what was the worst time in my life. One of my roommates was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was a friend I knew from my freshman year and who I lived with for 3 years. We had our disagreements, but we were like brothers.
I had never felt that much spirtual and emotional pain before. But during that whole period, from learning that he died, to meeting with his parents that night, to dealing with our friends. Then thru the funeral and the emotional memorial service we as friends and students held. It was a terrible period. It hit me what a powerful thing it is that God was in control. Through that pain I saw the comfort of my salvation. I saw that in how Matt's parents handled and expressed themselves. I saw it in how friends came through. I saw it in when my parents came up for the funeral, something I didn't know they were going to do. Finally in the sermon another good friend's father gave at the memorial service.
In all of that, I can honestly say what a awesome God we have. At that point, everything was well with my soul.