In the movie Finding Forrester, Forrester, who wrote a famous book, is living the life of a recluse in an inner city Chicago apartment overlooking a basketball court local youths shot baskets at. One boy, Jamal, is actually a gifted writer and Forester takes him under his wing. One of the lines I remember is Forester encouraging the kid not to ask soup questions. Ask questions to learn and not just create noise. The Apostle Paul now strings together big, theological words that talk about Christian growth and words Christians have disagreed about and have divided about. These are not soup words.
“29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)”
Foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and sanctified are all huge theological words that go way beyond the scope of a devotional but are indeed foundational to our faith and how we understand God’s love for us. I heard this explanation that I like. Similar to the builder of a house, a floor plan is drawn up before anything happens. The dream is defined. God, before creation, determined that the being, the humans, he created would grow to look like him, in his image or the image of his Son who was already the Word. He determined he would interact with them, incarnate to them, call them into relationship. As we have been reading Paul, he argues that the ones who are in relationship are justified by faith as a gift not by earning the right to speak to God. Sanctification is the growth in faith as we become more and more like Christ, culminating in eternity. It is not dissimilar to a child that is born and us debating how much the child looks like either parent or other relative. As the child grows, the child takes on more and more characteristics of the family as well as their own unique giftings.
For me, the realization that God has a plan for life that leads to a good end of glory is comforting. God forgives our flaws and keeps shaping us. Our future has hope. We are not chained to our past errors. Also God is personally involved in molding us. Creation is not a record of rights and wrongs written in some book in the heavenlies that will be held against us on judgment day. We do not climb up to God but he incarnates and relates to us in this growth process. Thirdly, these words imply to me that I keep my identity and do not reincarnate as a bug because of bad deeds or dissolve into perfection, uniting into “the force.” God created me with integrity, with purpose, and I am cherished.
Pick one of those big words that catches your attention: foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and sanctified. Write a definition in your own words and pray about it. Blessings.
On the Way to Wonder 