Musings on the Sovereignty of God

One group of Christians identifies God by his sovereignty, his control over everything. By their understanding, everything that happens is God's will, part of his plan. God knows what will take place because he has predetermined it. When bad things happen to good people, it's all part of God's design, and if we knew what God is up to, we would understand. The point is that God is sovereign, and it doesn't really matter if we understand or not; it doesn't really matter if we like it or not, because we're God's creation (read: We are God's property).

Another group identifies God by his love. Rather than focusing on his transcendence (how different and far away from us he is) and power, they focus on his immanence (how like us and near to us he is) and love. But real love makes us vulnerable, and vulnerability doesn't seem to fit with a transcendent God. This group, for the most part, also believes God knows every aspect of the future, not because he predetermined it, but because of his simple foreknowledge. Because he loves us, he has endowed us with free will (not fully realized in the unbeliever, because how free can anyone be who is a slave to sin?). Of course, predetermination and free will sort of cancel each other out, don't they? As God's crowning creation, this group doesn't focus so much on God's property rights, as much as on God's love for us (read: We are God's children).

Still another group, more closely related to the second than the first, focuses on God's openness. They say God only knows those aspects of the future that he chooses to know. They don't doubt that God could have created a universe where he predetermined everything down to the smallest detail, but they believe God chose not to create that kind of universe. They don't doubt that God could have created a universe where he simply foreknew everything, but they believe God chose not to create that kind of universe. They believe that God chose to create a universe where people would honestly have the ability to choose, and that how the future unfolds is in part dependent on those choices, making us not puppets, but partners with God in life.

What do you think? And how does what you believe shape how you minister to those who have experienced the tragedy of loss? How does what you believe impact your understanding of prayer?