Good knows the future, every thought, action and outcome that ever was or will be. That's are no limits on his knowledge.
He already knows who will go to heaven and hell, and always did.
So what is the point of this human life going on? Why not just cut to the chase sort us all into wheat and chaff right now?
Why the facade?
Let's say you have a machine that can tell you what the winning numbers on a lottery ticket will be. Can you pick up the winnings without those numbers being chosen first, or do you have to wait until the lottery is called and you bring the winning ticket with you?
As a Lutheran I believe in predestination, not in the Calvinistic sense, which means that even the elect can fall away, and further, it is God's will that all be saved. So even though I confess and believe that God chose me, predestined me, in Christ before the universe began nevertheless that election happens here (through the preaching of the Gospel, through the Sacrament of Baptism, etc) which means this mortal life is where God brings about His saving power to me to call me, justify me, and work His sanctification in me to conform me to Christ.
Further, God's work in His saints is not merely to save them, but also that they should preach His word and bear witness, so that through the preaching of the Gospel others might hear and believe.
Further, that through His people we might minister to the needs of others, such as providing food and drink and clothing, loving others.
This world matters, this life matters. What happens right now matters, not just temporarily, but for eternity.
God knowing, and even choosing, ultimately doesn't mean anything except that sinners are being saved, people are being redeemed, human beings are being transformed by His grace.
This world is not a facade. The right now is not a place of pretend. This isn't a game of chess, and then at the end of the game the pieces get reset on the board as though it never really mattered. Everything that happens here actually means something. How we treat others means something, our lives and our experiences, our sorrows and our joys, the creative works, the good works, and our sin all matters. There will be Judgment, there will be reckoning.
St. Paul when talking about the resurrection says that, in light of the resurrection that our labors in Christ will not be in vain. The works, the things that happen here, will have an eternal significance.
I firmly believe that nothing that is truly good shall ever be lost. That there is an intrinsic goodness to being human, and there is good in human creativity, in love. That the good and the beautiful shall be brought into a fullness of greater good in the future world.
While we can only see in part, as though looking through a dim glass, when the fullness of everything comes about we shall come to see everything as God has seen it. We may not understand how the joys and sorrows of this life will matter for eternity, but we shall see how that is on that future day. For the promise of God is that He works everything for good.
Everything in history has mattered. And will continue to matter. Every life, every person, every action, every good and every evil, every act of beauty and every act of ugliness has mattered--and will matter. How that all ultimately plays out is unknowable, but nevertheless it all matters--and will have an eternal importance.
-CryptoLutheran
