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That wasn’t even in view though.
We do not know what would have happened, if we did not go to a person who refuses God's charity. God can reach out to them without us and they could still refuse. It helps our Love to grow by ceasing opportunities to teach others.
Okay, then let’s do it this way. Yes, we are commanded to go into all the world. But if your view is correct, those who die before we get there are better off than those who have been reached and rejected God.
A hard heart at one time and one place in a person's life can change at another time and place. Jesus gave a parable about a child being asked to do something and refuses, but later changes his mind and goes.
We are not the only tool God has. We need to go to help us grow our Love. There will always be those who die before having the opportunity to accept or reject God's charity, but when people reach mature adulthood God can use us or some other means to reach them.
But if your view is correct, those who die before having the opportunity are better off than those who have been reached and rejected God.
Jesus is probably referring to the Gentiles who early on refused God and will turn later on.
The idea is at one time earlier their heart was such that they refused and later for some reason they repented (changed their mines) and did it.
Sovereignty is not determinism. God's sovereignty means that we cannot instruct God about how He goes about expressing His plans and purposes as affecting our lives. We have free choice about how we conduct ourselves, what education we have, who we can marry, where we can live, what church to go to, what employment to choose. When things go well with us we praise and thank God for His grace toward us. But when the bottom drops out of our world, we don't moan at God, but be like Job who said, "The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." We praise and thank God for His grace that He is allowing to go through trouble and suffering so we can show that we are true Christians who trust the Lord through the good and the bad. "Though I walk through the shadow of death, I will not be afraid, because your staff and rod will comfort me."
It’s almost as if God doesn’t interact in our lives unless we let Him.
It is a mystery about how God interacts in our lives and yet we make our own life decisions. The bottom line is that God is not a micro-manager as some would like Him to be. We have the Holy Spirit in us, and so there is an aspect of being led by the Spirit, living and walking in the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is to do with building the Christian character. As we come closer to being conformed to the image of Christ by the working of the Spirit in us, our conduct will reflect it.
It’s funny that when sovereign control is mentioned that folks go to “micro manage”. How do you think the cross happened?
