I have a friend who graduated to glory recently.  A story was told at her service that still has me laughing.   Cindy was relaxing at a friend’s Christmas party.  She was reclining on an upholstered chaise lounge chair

But she began to complain about pain in her leg.   A woman, who she did not know, happened to pass by, and Cindy asked if she would help her with her prosthetic leg.  She pleaded with urgency, “Would you please, please pull it off for me?”    

Touched with compassion, the lady grabbed her foot and began to gently pull.  It wasn’t coming, so she amped up her effort and furiously pulled– until Cindy began to giggle – because she did not have a prosthetic leg.      

The woman was quite upset with Cindy because – well – Cindy had pulled her leg. 

Have you ever felt that way when you read the Bible? – like God is just pulling your leg?   I know I have.

Consider John 1:12 which says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.”  So, it would seem, that a person has the freedom to choose to be saved – NASU.

And yet Ephesians 1:5 says, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” – NASU. So here it appears that God sovereignly chooses who will be saved.

And I wonder, “Is God pulling my leg?”  Both passages can’t be true, and yet the Scripture, in many places, affirms both concepts as truth.

Theologians try to resolve this conflict by choosing one side and diminishing the other.  “Well, God chooses those who He knows will trust Him.”  That might make sense to us, but it ends up misrepresenting both sides of the issue.  To choose one side at the expense of the other is to violate the clear teaching of Scripture.

But the real problem here, however, is not the Scripture, but our natural inability to understand it.  

God is our Creator.  His divine intellect is unsurpassed.  But we are the work of His hands.  We have been created by the master Creator.  Our wisdom is therefore absurdly limited as compared to His.   

Things that make perfect sense to Him, we are not even permitted to understand.  Moses reminded us, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”- Deut. 29:29. 

For 35 chapters in the book of Job, the suffering patriarch questioned the wisdom, and justice of God.  His friend Elihu finally asked “Who can understand the spreading of the clouds, the thunderings of his pavilion?” – Job 36:29. The answer, of course, is no one but God understands such things.  So, should our faith suffer because we can’t explain every theological nuance? 

God remained silent in the book until chapter 38, where He said to Job, “Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge?” – Job 38:2. In other words, “Job you have no idea what you are talking about.”

Then He proceeded by reminding Job of the myriad of things in the world that God had created, that Job just couldn’t explain.  God poured cold water on Job’s hot-headed arrogance and the man was humbled.

“Then Job answered the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted; you asked, ‘Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge?’  But I have declared without understanding things too wonderful for me to know” – Job 42:2-3.

If we could understand everything about God and His ways, well, He wouldn’t be much of a god would He?  I would not want to worship a god that I could fully explain. 

So, I am content to live with what appears to me to be theological contradictions, because I am confident that such things are perfectly understood by our Almighty God – and I’m not pulling your leg. 

A PRAYER: Lord, I trust you what You say, even when I don’t understand it

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress,com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

Passages are from the NETBible ® unless otherwise noted.