Matthew 26:24 “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Here we have the mystery of God’s foreknowledge and our free will. God knew what Judas was going to do before he was even conceived, but it was still Judas’ choice to do it. That’s the logical difficulty of God being omniscient and omnipotent, yet still giving us free will. There are those who come down on one side or the other of that conundrum, either insisting that God is not all knowing and all powerful, or that we are no more than puppets, and therefore bear no personal responsibility. Frankly, it is a difficulty that is beyond human intellect to resolve, which is why those who worship human intellect tend to be atheists. The problem is rooted in the fact that God is outside of time because He is immaterial, a Spirit, whereas we have spirits but we are firmly implanted in physical bodies. We don’t see things God’s way, because we can’t! However, this is where faith comes in. We have to accept that, like little children, we don’t know it all, but we do know our Daddy, and that’s enough.

I’ve wrestled with this issue a few times, but I keep coming back to God’s grace: even though He knows what we are going to do, He still loves us! That’s why grace is so amazing. In communicating the Gospel I am not to ignore or belittle honest intellectual questions, but I must not let them be excuses, because in the final analysis, that’s what most of them are. We don’t want to acknowledge our accountability before God. I need to remember God’s grace and patience toward me, and extend that same grace and patience toward others. However, that doesn’t mean failing to confront them when that is called for, failing to challenge them to grow in faith and obedience.

Father, You know me better than I know myself, and yet You still love me. Thank you. That is indeed amazing. Help me be an active, and increasingly effective, instrument of Your love and grace to all I encounter, so that many may be brought to faith and active discipleship, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!