Decisions, Decisions

Wan Phek How (at Regent College) has launched a new spiritual formation blog "ANYTHING GOES":

"Why are Christians so indecisive in practice?

The answer is due, in no small part, to the belief that God has a wonderful plan for every Christian. Like an archer targeting the bull’s-eye, the Christian aims to walk in the “centre of God’s will.”[1] If such is the case, the onus of decision-making lies with God. In fact, decisions would have already been cast-in-stone in God’s plan. The task of the Christian, then, is to find God’s will and act on it. Thus the energy of the Christian is diverted from facing the decision to discovering God’s will. Instead of daring to decide, the Christian holds back, frozen in indecisiveness.

Does the Bible present God as having a fixed, inflexible blueprint or a directed, yet fluid purpose? According to R. Paul Stevens: “It is a myth and misunderstanding that God has a wonderful plan for your life; God has something better—a wonderful purpose (Eph 1:9) … The difference between a plan and a purpose is like the difference between a blueprint and a stream that carries people along even though they may make adjustments along the way.”[2]

Adam and Eve were given the freedom to eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Ge 2:16-17). They were given the freedom to choose within the bounds of God’s revealed will. According to Luther, the will of God is found in loving God and one’s neighbour.[3] These are the two greatest commandments and we can think of them as the two banks of the stream of God’s will. As long as our decisions lie within the bounds of these two commandments, we are flowing with God’s purposes." READ ON