Yay for blogging!
So this post isn't specifically about Eagle Eye, so if you haven't watched it, don't worry that I'll ruin it for you. Eagle Eye is a good movie, though, and I recommend to go see it, unless you are an especially paranoid person. This movie was just the impetus for some thoughts that I want to put down.
It's pretty simple: I guessed that this was a certain type of movie, and then I guessed the ending to it. That said, I got caught up in it, and forgot all of what I had reasoned. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time! What would happen to these characters that I had begun to sympathize with? What was this evil? In most stories(like Eagle Eye), we can guess, but we don't know the ending(unless you're watching, say, a Greek tragedy like Antigone or movies like Sunshine).
That makes for a great, entertaining movie, but let's switch from art to life. God has told us the ending of our story- of the story being acted out by us on earth, Satan and his demons, and God and his angels.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
Rev 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Rev 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Rev 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
The real ending is happy! All loose ends are neatly tied up. But- and this is a big but- we don't know how it gets that way. Yes, he has given us so many details, but we still don't know the date- despite our 1666s,1844s, Y2Ks and 2012s. And we can't even figure out the clues, even though many are provided. Take a look at Matthew 24. In answering a question about how everything will be tidied up, Jesus answers with many specific events to watch out for, but warned that people will still not know, even when it comes.
So now we come to it: why not? Why didn't God outline it so that we could understand it? Why give us what he did? The whole script is there, and yet, it is still so murky! I don't know all of the reasons, but here's some thoughts that makes sense to me.
1. For our benefit(though not how we may see it):
The first few verses of Romans 5 first mention the salvation from our sin and the restoration of our relationship with God that we have through Jesus. Paul then talks about sanctification- becoming more like God. And it's not achieved through our lives being perfect- on the contrary, we are to expect and rejoice in suffering. This is shifting a little in focus from why we don't know it all, but stick with me. Look at what suffering does:
Rom 5:3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
Rom 5:4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
Rom 5:5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Suffering makes us hope, but in the middle of all of that is character and endurance. In stories, conflict happens, and in the end, people are better for it. You could say that history is a story. Art really reflects nature in this instance. People time and again have risen out of their circumstances, whether physically or spiritually, to more greatly reflect God and do great things.
This whole discussion on character and suffering and hope leads me to the answer: we simply don't need to know it all. We know the ending to give us hope, we know the details to give us some sort of a heads-up, but we're going to have to rely completely on God for us to get us through regardless. God gives us hope in eternity for our benefit, but he gives us just enough. We don't need to know everything, but God's faithfulness and power is assured in scripture and has been proven throughout history time and again.
The beginning and end are very important, but in living out the middle part, the ending is made. We as humans just like to control more than we need to, but if we would be as trusting as children are, we would make things a lot less bumpier. No wonder God calls us not to worry, but to hope.
This passage sums it all up:
Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29 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 among many brothers.
Rom 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Rom 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Rom 8:34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
Rom 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
Rom 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So this post isn't specifically about Eagle Eye, so if you haven't watched it, don't worry that I'll ruin it for you. Eagle Eye is a good movie, though, and I recommend to go see it, unless you are an especially paranoid person. This movie was just the impetus for some thoughts that I want to put down.
It's pretty simple: I guessed that this was a certain type of movie, and then I guessed the ending to it. That said, I got caught up in it, and forgot all of what I had reasoned. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time! What would happen to these characters that I had begun to sympathize with? What was this evil? In most stories(like Eagle Eye), we can guess, but we don't know the ending(unless you're watching, say, a Greek tragedy like Antigone or movies like Sunshine).
That makes for a great, entertaining movie, but let's switch from art to life. God has told us the ending of our story- of the story being acted out by us on earth, Satan and his demons, and God and his angels.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
Rev 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Rev 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Rev 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
The real ending is happy! All loose ends are neatly tied up. But- and this is a big but- we don't know how it gets that way. Yes, he has given us so many details, but we still don't know the date- despite our 1666s,1844s, Y2Ks and 2012s. And we can't even figure out the clues, even though many are provided. Take a look at Matthew 24. In answering a question about how everything will be tidied up, Jesus answers with many specific events to watch out for, but warned that people will still not know, even when it comes.
So now we come to it: why not? Why didn't God outline it so that we could understand it? Why give us what he did? The whole script is there, and yet, it is still so murky! I don't know all of the reasons, but here's some thoughts that makes sense to me.
1. For our benefit(though not how we may see it):
The first few verses of Romans 5 first mention the salvation from our sin and the restoration of our relationship with God that we have through Jesus. Paul then talks about sanctification- becoming more like God. And it's not achieved through our lives being perfect- on the contrary, we are to expect and rejoice in suffering. This is shifting a little in focus from why we don't know it all, but stick with me. Look at what suffering does:
Rom 5:3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
Rom 5:4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
Rom 5:5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Suffering makes us hope, but in the middle of all of that is character and endurance. In stories, conflict happens, and in the end, people are better for it. You could say that history is a story. Art really reflects nature in this instance. People time and again have risen out of their circumstances, whether physically or spiritually, to more greatly reflect God and do great things.
This whole discussion on character and suffering and hope leads me to the answer: we simply don't need to know it all. We know the ending to give us hope, we know the details to give us some sort of a heads-up, but we're going to have to rely completely on God for us to get us through regardless. God gives us hope in eternity for our benefit, but he gives us just enough. We don't need to know everything, but God's faithfulness and power is assured in scripture and has been proven throughout history time and again.
The beginning and end are very important, but in living out the middle part, the ending is made. We as humans just like to control more than we need to, but if we would be as trusting as children are, we would make things a lot less bumpier. No wonder God calls us not to worry, but to hope.
This passage sums it all up:
Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29 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 among many brothers.
Rom 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Rom 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Rom 8:34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
Rom 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
Rom 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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