Providence

Certain events in my life, especially as of late, have called me to reflect on the role of Providence within my own life. For me it has always been such an abstract concept and one that, though I have always believed in as dogma, never really felt its power within my own life until now. Providence, God's plan for creation, can be understood in two senses. The first being more of a general type of Providence. God simply provides for all. This the meaning of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount: " That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."(Matt. 6:45). It is through God's providence that we have everything. The sun, the rain, food, drink, love, and even beer can be understood in this way. They are gifts to mankind in general. We must be thankful for these kinds of gifts and many of them, of course, are life sustaining. One couldn't live without sunshine or oxygen for instance. These gifts are for everyone, however, and are not aimed at the individual person. There is, however, a second type of Providence and it is one that is harder to understand and for most, including myself, harder to believe. This second type is Providence ordered toward the individual and is experienced as a special gift, a miracle even, that equips the individual to better to serve the will of God. This idea of Providence is expressed throughout the Bible, especially in the Old Testement. Gifts such as prophecy and kingship can be seen in this context as well as the election of Israel (think of all the instances of God breaking the natural order to come to the aid of Israel). For us, especially in the modern world, this is pretty tough to believe. The idea that God breaks through the barrier of the natural order of things to intervene in our daily lives seems pretty absurd. It was pretty easy for the Puritans to believe in this and they believed in it alot but for us, it seems almost silly. As Christians, we believe (or rather, are supposed to believe) that with God anything is possible. But we tend dismiss miracles and throw providence on the rubbish heap of erroneous ideas. And I, like most, have effectively done this while still maintaining the doctrinal notion. However, there are certains events and certain feelings that I have recently developed that make me reconsider Providence. I am left speechless now and in awe because without a doubt Providence is working in my life and not in some abstract theological sense but in a very visceral sort of way. I must thank God for these precious gifts that I have received and am receiving still. This Thanksgiving will be special in a way that I never thought possible.