God's Will is Not Perfect....
Please turn or click to Mark 1 and grab a sheet of paper.
- What characteristics do you see from Jesus right off the bat (immediately)?
This is what I saw: Jesus preaching. Jesus healing. Then, Jesus proceeded to preach and...Jesus continued to heal. Lastly, Jesus preached and...surprise, surprise He did some more healing.
Can we take a split second
to recognize that the "first exorcism"
took place in a synagogue (Jewish temple).
Although the focus of this post is going to primarily be pertaining to verses 40-45, I want us to keep in mind the setting and posture of Jesus here.
This passage and passages similar to it has always puzzled me. This whole scenario of Jesus warning/advising people He has healed to not tell others. Isn't this contrary to what we "church folks" have been taught? If you are re-reading the Gospels with me or perhaps reading them for the first time and following this blog, didn't we just read in Matthew 10: 27 that Jesus wanted us to proclaim what He has done from the rooftops?!
However, we see a different command from Jesus here. But, like other things in the Holy Bible we must remember that this was a circumstantial command.
I use The Apologetics Study Bible and they note this for verse 44:
"If Jesus was the Messiah, why did He not allow
the man with the skin disease to spread the news
about Him? Jesus did not want His program
co-opted by others (see John 6:15, 7:3-6). He would
reveal Himself on His own terms when
the time was right..."
Does anyone else find it interesting that Jesus has wants? Maybe let me ask you this question after you read Mark 2.
- What characteristic(s) do you see in Jesus now?
I'll let you know what I immediately saw was: mind-reader! (vrs 8)
Later on we also see Jesus having the capability to know the future in some sense.
So let me point out my previous statement again in light of this new information about Jesus-Jesus has wants.
How is it possible/conceivable that someone with the intuition and fore-knowledge like Jesus would have wants?
Jesus wanted this man that He just healed to not tell anyone about what happened. Why? Well, as mentioned above it is believed that Jesus basically wanted His ministry to be unhindered. Meaning, He wanted everything to happen in its proper time. He wanted to get the most uninterrupted time with the people. He wanted His preaching to be open, accepted and declared from the rooftops. However, Jesus knew that this could not happen when more and more news of his radical actions reached not just the masses, but the religious leaders. Could His ministry have lasted longer than just three years if the people he healed and told not to tell anyone actually did not tell anyone???
This all made me question God's will. God knew before time began what was going to happen. He holds all things in His hands; nothing is out of His will.
And yet, I am puzzled by why He would still have wants. Why tell people not do something when you already know what they are going to do?
I was instantly reminded of Romans 12: 1-2.
"...His good, pleasing and perfect will."
Jesus wanted something done a certain way. Why? Because it would have been easier for both Him and mankind? Is this what makes His plan/will perfect? When things are easy?
Well, according to the Google dictionary Perfect means:
being free or as free as possible from
all flaws/defects
God's will still happened although this man (and many of us) disobey His commands. But, was/is His will made perfect in that flaw/defect of sin?
I would say no. But this is just a theory.
I knew I blow some minds by saying "God's Will is Not Perfect" as my subtitle. I left the statement open-ended on purpose though. For the first part in Romans 12 give us our conclusion.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
You see I don't think that God's wants and God's will is the same thing. God's will happens regardless of His wants (desire to posses or do something). As the lady I live with commented, "It is six of one, half dozen of another" when it comes to either us choosing the easy or hard road in regards to God's will. But God's wants seems to say, "it's my way or the highway." The highway is not His want for you, but He will accomplish what He set out to do regardless. Just like how Jesus's end goal was to still die on the cross for our sins. The path getting there just may have looked differently if we obeyed along the way...then again...I guess if we obeyed everything, we wouldn't have needed to Jesus to die for our sins...and thus, this is where some philosophers/"Christians" get into the conundrum of saying everything happens for a reason.
I don't know if I agree..
- Does everything happen for a reason?
All in all we must ask, what does God want?
Now that ladies and gents is the real age ol' question...not "what is God's will?".
I can not proceed without questioning my new theory. Is saying that God's will is not made perfect unless it is in correspondence with our obedience actual Truth? How can a flaw (a sinful being) ever be put together/ be a part of flawlessness (God)?
The answer is simple. And it is all in the name of this "series". Jesus.
It is important to remember that God does not need me.
But God wants me. Big difference.
How can a Perfect Being (because He not only wills/wants perfection, but He is perfection) allow imperfection? This answer is a little bit more complicated. For the major flaw is not/would not have been the sin...stay with me now...the major flaw would have been creating humans with robotic love towards Himself.
He has wants and thus, He instilled in us to have wants. For we are His image-bearers says Genesis. However, those wants we have are thought to be satisfied by another other than God. This is where sin enters the picture.
So again, God sees the bigger picture-a genuine and intimate relationship with Himself and His creations.
- What do you think? Am I boxing God in by saying His will is not perfect unless it is in addition to our obedience/love?
- Can we really limit God?
- Can we change God's plans? If yes, how?
Like I said, the answer is always Jesus.
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