Free Will & Falling Rain

"What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.' Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden."

Romans 9:14-18

In recent weeks the thirsty soils of Indiana have been showered with much needed rain. As the Autumn weather systems finally set in cold fronts slowly began to descend from the Rocky Mountains and from Canada. As they collided with the warm air masses blowing up from Texas and the Gulf of Mexico rain began to fall. One front after another began to sweep into Indiana.

As the rain fell it fell on all: fields from Brookston to Versailles, Evansville to Angola, and Ligoiner to Logootee all felt the cool showers descend. Yet, predictably, the rain did not offer the same effect to all.

The normally wet soils around Marion remain dry, a cause for much concern as we approach a winter that is predicted to be mild at best. Will moisture arrive in time for spring? Quite differently the fields around Terra Haute are nearly waterlogged. Sure, they too have had less rain than normal this season, but the fields today are wet. The fields of Logootee suffer a different problem even yet: much of the rain came too quick to soak in: it simply ran down the sloping hillsides, destined to drain back to where it came from: the Gulf of Mexico. True, the rain fell on all, but the effects of the rain were diverse.

It is through the lens of this illustration of the rain that an early Church Father, Origen, explains the passage from Romans above. Often, modern Christians (Baptists, Presbyterians, and the Reformed especially) interpret this passage to mean that God determines the status of our hearts. To be fair, it does sound that way at first glance. Yet, Origen, one of the brightest minds in Church history explains the passage differently.

In essence Origen argues that the grace of God falls on the hearts of all. Every heart has experienced the gentle or perhaps torrential shower of God's grace (of course, by grace we mean that power of God delivered by the Holy Spirit which saves, sustains, persuades, and guides us). Yet, Origen adds, that it is the condition of the soil of the heart that determines how the person responds.

Some hearts respond positively to the rain of God's grace. These hearts, as in Jesus's parable of the sower, produce good fruit. Yet other hearts spurn the grace of God. These hearts harden and become crusty so to speak as they become resistant to God's further grace.

Origen then goes on to point, as Paul does in the passage at hand, to the story of Moses and Pharaoh. Even Pharaoh's heart had experienced God's grace. Yet, Pharaoh rejected, instead choosing to attempt to preserve his kingdom and dignity. His heart hardened as the showers of grace descended. In a manner that would make John Wesley proud we are able to see that it is the condition of the heart (the soil) that really matters.

So, in the end, God does harden who he will and have mercy on who he will. To be sure, man's will plays a subordinate role. Yet, how man has responded to God before does determine the state of his heart. If someone has spent their life ignoring God's grace it will become increasingly difficult for that person to experience it at all. On the opposite end, the heart that has come to salvation, sanctification, and is continually allowing God's grace to lead and guide them, will bear much fruit.

Can God slow our hardening and increase our fruit bearing? Certainly he is God. But Origen is quick to quote Jesus Christ himself when he said. "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." The righteous, being good soil, according to their own choices in the past, bloom and grow abundant fruit. The unrighteous simply spurn the grace again, as they have in the past, and further develop a hard crusty shell on their heart. What kind of soil are you?

I Read Hymnals... And You Should Too

That's right. I read hymnals. I don't read them for class. I don't read them for ministry. I read them for pure joy. I read them as devotionals. In my library at home I have nearly ten hymnals. They hail from far diverse backgrounds. Among the collection you will find an old Methodist Episcopal hymnal, an old Brethren hymnal, the old Nazarene hymnal (used in many Wesleyan churches prior to 1980), an old Presbyterian hymnal, and a number of new hymnals including the most recent hymnal published by Bill Gaither.

You can tell a lot about a church by the hymnal it uses. For example, you might find it interesting that most hymnals published before 1970 have few to no patriotic songs. In fact, the Star Spangled Banner appears in none of them. You might also find it interesting that the hymnals published before 1960 often include no fewer than four or five songs about mothers. Nowadays, hymnals often hold only one song that makes reference to motherhood. (I don't quite understand that shift).

Some church's hymnals are theologically deep, such as the 1905 Methodist Episcopal hymnal or the Presbyterian hymnal. Other hymnals dedicate more page space to to more sentimental testimonial music (gospel), such as the Gaither hymnal. Yet other hymnals are notable for their overall style of music. For example the Nazarene and Brethren hymnal include songs which have much more swing and lilt to them. Yet others remain subdued in their tunes.

Sadly, the hymnal seems to be a dying breed. The newest hottest churches on the block don't use them. I have a feeling that they'll some day regret this. Will we remember songs like I Am A Friend of God or the new choruse style Blessed Be the Name of the Lord 50 years from now? Its not likely unless we record them somewhere in writing. Also, without hymnals, we fail to allow sacred music to permeate our home life. Sure, Chris Tomlin may be playing on the radio, but that will not have the lasting effect that we might hope for unless the young mother is singing his songs to her child. Of course, she can do this from memory, but we often do not carry an entire block of songs in our memory for ready access. Consider yourself. You probably have fewer than 30 songs at ready access that you know by heart. Yet, if you had the words to guide you you would probably know 300 or more.

Of course, the hymnal's use is dying out for other reasons. The greatest among these reasons may very well be that many people simply can't read music anymore. This is caused by what is perhaps the greatest cause for the death of the hymnal: Christian radio. The radio, after all, allows us to hear contemporary Christian music over and over again all week long. There is no need to have the songs written down, because we memorize them for the short time they're on the air. What happens, though, when the station quits playing that song and moves on to another?

In the end, however, I read old hymnals because they speak to my soul. Perhaps this is because the older hymanls especially take pains to be accurate in what they say theologically. Or perhaps it is simply because I admire the faith of those who went before. During my personal prayer time nothing short of scripture can impact me in the same way. I'll leave you with this old hymn from the Methodist Episcopal hymnal written by Charles Wesley.

With glorious clouds encompassed round,
Whom angels dimly see,
Will the Unsearchable be found,
Or God appear to me?

Will He forsake His throne above,
Himself to men impart?
Answer, thou man of grief and love,
And speak it to my heart.

Didst Thou not in our flesh appear,
And live and die below,
That I may now percieve Thee near,
And my Redeemer know?

Come then and to my soul reveal
The heights and depths of grace,
Those wounds which all my sorrows heal,
Which all my sins efface.

Then I shall see in His own light,
Whom angels dimly see;
And gaze transported at the sight,
To all eternity.

Amen

Whats in a name?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

--William Shakespeare

The famous writer of sonnets had it right when he penned those words. After all, what is in a name? Wouldn't the rose smell the same no matter what we called it? Wouldn't a rose, if we called it skunk weed still smell just as beautiful? Maybe, maybe not. As a parent to be I am beginning to ask these questions as I consider the name of my child to be.

Yesterday we learned that the child within Amy is a girl. Of course, if you know us you can imagine that this was quite a shock. We had been nearly certain that the baby would be a boy. We had a name. We knew what colors we wanted. Amy even had a pattern (tractors and cows) picked out for the crib fabrics. Then, the bomb was dropped. Its a girl, or at least that is what the doctor thinks (and he has a good record behind him on this).

Now we are left in the wake of this explosion in our lives. We are planners, but we are now without a plan. We are dreamers, but now our dreams have to be reworked. Before I go too much farther I should note that we are by no means disappointed. We are excited that we have a healthy baby on the way. We just simply didn't expect it to be a girl. Now, the difficult task of choosing a name lays before us. The names nearest the top of the list are: Lydia Jean, Amarah Jean, and Sadie Lynne (all names are in some form borrowed from current or former family members). You might be interested in how we came to these. Here is our logic:

1) We want a family name: I guess we're pretty traditional in this regard. We would really prefer to adopt a family name for our child. This, for the child, we feel gives them a stronger sense of who they are and where they come from. These are things we are proud of.

2) A Biblical name is great: This further adds to the identity issue. We want our child to be reminded the rest of his or her life (whether he or she likes it or not) that we are Christians, called by the name of Jesus Christ. A biblical name underscores this fact.

3) We have to really like the namesake: The namesake has to have one or several outstanding personality characteristics that we would admire. I wont say too much more about this since I know some namesakes will be reading (we don't want them to get a big head, do we?)

4) We want something normal: We don't want a name that sounds like it could be a Crayola crayon color. We also don't want a name that is too reminiscent of a piece of fruit or other inanimate object (such as Apple or Chair). We would also prefer to steer clear of very infrequently used names.

5) We don't want something too normal: We don't want a name that three or four other kids in the class will have. Again, if you know us, you know that we're none too interested in being trendy. We also don't want to be too boring with a name.


So, here is our criteria for selecting a name. Different people use different methods, but this is ours. Can you think of any other names using our formula?

It was easier for Mary. After all, she had an angel tell her what to do.