INTELLIGENT PROGRESSION V: Choices of God that have conquences

We are made in the image and likeness of God. For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with what that phrase could mean. Somehow, I think it is at the very core of what it means for me to be human, but how any of this has a bearing on my spirituality is still murky. I did have a glimmer this morning during my Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5) that bubbled to the surface of my consciousness. I share it with you, and you make you draw your own conclusions.

Where does that originate if I am defined by my ability to reason and my free will to choose what I think is good for me? If my choices define who I am, not my abilities, then can the same be said of God? God makes choices, and if the parallel holds, these choices define who God is and have consequences. My most recent addition is to seek to plumb the depths (heights) of any Lectio Divina.

Intelligent progression means that I get my ability to reason and freely choose my destiny because I am made in the image and likeness of God. If so, what are God’s choices? Scripture tells us, “Who can know the mind of God or who has been His Counselor?” Scriptures provide clues to at least approach the concept of God and free choice. Here are some random thoughts about God and choice and how their implications impact me as I struggle with reason and free will.

THE PRIMACY OF GOD’S CHOICES

As I look out at my life of over eighty-one years, I have made many choices, some good and some poor, but all of them are a result of my trying to love God with ALL my heart, ALL my mind, and ALL my strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:38)

• God’s choice is me (Genesis 2-3).
• God’s choice is to allow me to be free from coercion to choose Him.
• God’s choice is to provide me with the tools and the techniques to make it through the minefield of human nature.
• God won’t make the journey for me because it is the journey that adds value to what it means to be fully human.
• God’s choice is to sit on a park bench in the middle of winter and wait for me to be in God’s presence so that energy can transform me to become what my nature intended, an adopted son (daughter) of the Father and heir to the kingdom.
• God’s choice is to put a fingerprint (DNA) on each atom and molecule to move it forward toward the fulfillment nature intended.
• God’s choice is to give us Himself, with reason (in the case of God, pure knowledge of The Word) and freedom to make choices without blocking from God. There are consequences of God’s choice; for us, it is the final judgment that we must account for what we do.
• God loves me so much that the choice God makes is to allow me to choose what is bad for me.