Oct 09

Verse 10 of Ephesians 2 says that we are God's workmanship and that God prepared good works for us to do in advance. That little phrase "in advance" is another example of how God loves to slip words of tremendous meaning into his Word by using common, ordinary words that can easily be overlooked.

In advance means from all eternity. God's plan for all that exists is not modified moment by moment, depending upon what actions human beings may or may not take. He knows in advance what they will do. He knows everything from all eternity and his plan takes everything into account -- yes, even the actions of human and angelic beings who have free will.

But what about the prayers of his people, or the acts of repentance that God himself says can turn back his anger over sin? Does this mean that God will go ahead and do what he had already planned to do, despite these acts of human beings that stem from their free will? No, it means simply that God has known from all eternity that they would choose as they would and that even that has been taken into account.

We see things from within the constraints of time, but God is not bound by those constraints. He does, however, enter into the framework of time and interact with us in accord with those constraints, so that our prayers do have power to "change" the flow of events in the reality we see.

Like Jesus lowering himself from his glory in heaven to come down to earth and die for us, this foreknowledge of God is another example of God lowering himself down to our level out of his great love for us. Out of this love, God deigns to function within our framework of time -- and thus we find communication and a relationship with him possible. This is the greatness of his love for us, that he would submit to relating to us on this level that we know and understand.

Scripture for today: Philippians 2:1-11
Thought for today: God lowers himself to my level so that I can be raised to his level.
Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, I thank you so much for giving up the glories of heaven to come down to this earth, so that I could be raised up to heaven.

OCT 09