Thoughts from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: Time

Calvinism.
Pre-destination.
Freewill?

There are many terms and many different view points from those in the Christian life who argue their view of the pre-knowledge of God. What does He really know ahead of time? Does He guide our acts like a master puppeteer, or does He watch and wait? Is God ever surprised? Just HOW in control are we, as mere human beings, made of flesh and muscle and bone, blessed and cursed by the ever present inevitability that we, and we alone, indeed are responsible for what we say, think, act out, don't act out, and imagine? In His Word, God makes it very clear that no, we are not puppets. We are free thinkers. Free doers. Free from strings, free to harm. To hurt. To love. To laugh. To serve. Whether we choose to do any or all of these things is entirely up to us. Does God guide? Yes, I believe He does. His Word also states quite clearly and in simple layman's terms that God has a plan for our individual lives. So what about time? If God has this plan for our lives, does He know what we will do before we do it? Or does He just influence what happens in and around us? Confused yet?

While reading today in the book that is ever becoming my favorite, Mere Christianity, I read the following passage and was struck at the complexity of Mr. Lewis' thoughts. They were hard to swallow. Yet, a second look, and I knew almost instantaneously what he was talking about and his thought process. It's amazing, astounding, and refreshing:

"But God, I believe, does not live in a Time-series at all. His life is not dribbled out moment by moment like ours: with Him it is, so to speak, still 1920 and already 1960. For His life is Himself. If you picture time as a straight line along which we have to travel, then you must picture God as the whole page on which the line is drawn.... Another difficulty we get if we believe God to be in time is this. Everyone who believes in God at all believes that He knows what you and I are going to do tomorrow. But if He knows I am going to do so-and-so, how can I be free to do otherwise? Well, here once again, the difficulty comes from thinking that God is progressing along the Time-line like us: the only difference being that He can see ahead and we cannot. Well, if that were true, if God foresaw our acts, it would be very hard to understand how we could be free not to do them. But suppose God is outside and above the Time-line. In that case, what we call 'tomorrow' is visible to Him in just the same way as what we call 'today'. All the days are 'Now' for Him. He does not remember you doing things yesterday; He simply sees you doing them, because, though you have lost yesterday, He has not. He does not 'foresee' you doing things tomorrow; He simply sees you doing them: because, though tomorrow is not yet there for you, it is for Him. You never supposed that your actions at this moment were any less free because God knows what you are doing. Well, He knows your tomorrow's actions in just the same way-- because He is already in tomorrow and can simply watch you. In a sense, He does not know your action till you have done it: but then the moment at which you have done it is already 'Now' for Him."

Wow. Maybe not the clearest case I can present for saying that I believe in freewill and personal responsibility, with Christ as my Savior and Guide, but I think it will get some wheels turning, as it did mine. Think about it. For yourself.

Psalm 139: 1-4
O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

"You Don't Date?"

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this exclaimed throughout my teenage and young adult years. And I suppose to most, it does seem like an odd comeback to their question of either ‘Do you have a boyfriend?’ or, the very rare: ‘What are you doing Friday night...?’ I tend to get this blank and somewhat confused look like I have suddenly grown another head or just announced that I’m actually a ruling dictator in Russia. Before I dive in with my explaination, I suppose I should clarify. It’s not that I don’t date, I’m just not looking to date... in the sense of what it’s come to be known as.

Call me old fashioned. Ok, let’s just get it out of the way: “Allison, you’re old fashioned.” I don’t know if it’s the fact that I was brought up in a fairly strict homeschooled environment, or my parents influence and beliefs on the subject, but I believe that when it comes right down to it, I have chosen this way for myself- no other. When I was in my teens, our house rule was no dating. That was just a given, and I was perfectly fine with it. I saw the positives of not going from one heartbreaking relationship to another, and I was too young to get married anyway. So one would assume now that I’m ‘out of the house’ so to speak, I could ditch what my parents were requiring and just date whomever, whenever, right? Not exactly. So why not? I was free, wasn’t I, to make my own choices? 

True. But the funny thing was, when I took a second look at why I did what I did, and the reasons behind it, I found out that my parents were actually on to something. This of course I already knew, but I wanted to verify it for myself anyway. What I realized is that yes, of course I wanted to find that certain someone, my best friend and partner for life, but did I want to have to go through 2, 3, 5- or more, guys and the repeatedly broken hearts that ensued, on the way to get there to that goal? No! Absolutely and emphatically no. I know many people would argue that you don’t know and can’t grow unless you try it out first or have your heart broken a few times along the way. Yes, quite a few will argue that it actually makes it sweeter, when you finally fall in love with the right one, because you’ve been able to find out what you didn’t want and what you weren’t looking for in a spouse along the way. What they fail to mention are the casualties you’ll have left along the roadside of life, casting those aside, trampling over their feelings (and yours)-- all in the pursuit of finding someone through trial and error. The only problem, other than the hurt feelings on both sides, is that in essence you’re trying out boys. They become simply try-out relationships... and then you’ve missed the point entirely. You no longer have marriage in mind, but of having a good time, going out, being flirtatious, and then when you truly get to know the person, casting them aside at the soonest convenient opportunity.

Usually knowing all this doesn’t deter people from dating. Am I afraid to get my heart broken, you ask? No. But for right now, I’ve decided that if I can have any say in it, I want to get to know a guy as a friend first, not having the intention of starting any relationship, until we both know we are fully ready to pursue a relationship with the goal of marriage as a the end result, if that is how the Lord is directing in each of our lives. 

I look forward to that day, if that is what God wants to fulfill in my life. However, until that day, I will continue to answer the question-- because I know the answer is ultimately in my, and my future spouses, best interest.