The Road ahead; is it a destiny already planned by God?

The Road ahead; is it a destiny already planned by God?

What lies ahead for any of us who believes in God?  The question of predestination has always been a controversial subject that many theologians, scripture scholars, and preachers have wrestled with for centuries.  

Paul writing in Ephesians sets forth “The Father’s Plan of Salvation; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chrisr, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.  In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in his beloved.”  (Eph 1:3 - 6).

From the “Mystery of the Church” by John Poweel, S.J.; “The Mystery as Hidden in God” where Paul presents the mystery as the divine plan, conceived under the impulse of love, but hidden from men.  It is God’s intention to vivify men with his own life, through his Son who will himself enter the world to unite men to his Father by joining a community to himself.  In the blood of his Son, God will seal a new covenant with man and take to himself a new people, a community of love.”

“The Mystery as revealed in Christ” In his Son, God would gather together a community, the Church, fashioned to his own image and likeness, to the image and likeness of the community of love in heaven.”  

“The Mystery as realized in us, the community of love, sharing the life of God.”   Paul told the Collosians “that the mystery is Christ in you.”  

There are three stages of the Mystery in Ephesians  (1) The intention of God from all eternity.  (Eph 1: 4 - 6).  (2) the enactment of this plan in time;  (Eph 1:  7 - 12).  (3) The Mystery in relation to men.  (Eph 1: 13 - 14).

To this point we see in a dramatic stage play how God indeed has set the destiny of his plan to share his life and love with mankind and has choreographed the event of pre-determining his plan for the benefit of all men

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The proposition that God has predestined some to sin and never reach heaven is an erroneous premise that holds no water.   Putting the question in a positive manner we see that God indeed has predetermined our path through grace and by way of his Son has completed the plan to forgive mankind for all of his sins.  The only requirement we must hold is to accept and believe this truth of salvation.  This is what has been predetermined and cannot change.

God would never determine beforehand who will believe and come to live with him, and to others, who no matter how much they try, will go straight to hell because of a predetermined plan and send them to hell because of their intense sinning.  First of all, God cannot send anyone to hell since that would contradict his ever-loving purpose and who he is.  God is total love without any deviation towards his creatures.  His love is all of what he is.  God’s plan for our salvation as outlined above is a  total forgiveness even for sinners of which each of us is  Those who enter the arena of perdition are people who actually struggle to keep away from God’s intention to keep loving them even when they choose to turn away.

The question of predestination is real as long as we keep the proper perspective towards its meaning and not add or subtract from the real intentions of mankind's destiny. 

Ralph B. Hathaway