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.