I know I have been holding you all in suspense for the past 24 hours, so never fear. Here is the conclusion to part one of the God’s Sovereignty blog. You can stop biting your nails in eager anticipation, because the moment has arrived when all your questions will be answered. Ok, not all of them. But some of them.
If you didn’t read the last blog and have no idea what I’m talking about, you should do that, because if you don’t you will be utterly confused and I do not find it time efficient to repeat myself at this time.
I decided to revisit Romans 9, Isaiah 6, and Exodus 5 once more. This time, I thought about the hardening of hearts- not as an eternal situation that a person is born with, and thereby can never have the ability to receive the grace of God, but rather as a temporary one used to bring God the most glory in a given situation. Let me explain.
I was drawn to John 5, to the story of the healing at the pool. Jesus goes to the pool called Bethesda (or Bethsaida, depending on your perspective) and heals a dude who can’t walk. There are a lot of remarkable things about this story, but the thing that drew my attention this particular time is this statement in verse 3, “Here a great number of disabled people used to lie…” Dozens of people were there, just hanging out, waiting for the chance of healing- yet Jesus heals ONE MAN. What is that about? I will answer this question in an indirect manner.
Here’s what I have realized out about God through this line of inquiry. If, as Matt Chandler says, our ultimate purpose on this earth is bringing glory to the One who made us, then everything he enables us to do or not do is for His glory. In Exodus, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart demonstrates God’s glory because, when Pharaoh finally decides to let the Israelites go, it cannot be credited to anyone EXCEPT God. In the context of salvation (or any other demonstration of faith), God opens our eyes to His truth only at the moment that brings Him the most glory, and also is the best moment for us (though he’s mainly concerned about the former). In this moment where God’s sovereignty is revealed, we have the choice of accepting Him or rejecting Him. If we accept Him, we commit to a life of faith that is based on mercy and grace. Because of how the Lord works, we can’t give credit to ourselves for this decision. Yes, it is ultimately ours, but it is arrogant to think that we actually by our own strength and mental power were able to receive the free gift of grace. No, it is only God’s decision to open our hearts that gives us a tiny glimpse of who He is and what that means to us.
Here’s the best example I can think of to demonstrate this point. The cross. People who had welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem joyously only days before then decided that he deserved to die. An innocent man was sentenced to death over a known murderer. Here’s what happened: The Lord hardened the hearts of the people in the crowd, the guards, the government officials, the Jewish leaders, the disciples. Why? Why would God enable such a horrible thing? I will tell you. So that his glory would ultimately be revealed. So that three days later, his Son could be raised from the dead. So that, for the rest of time, you and I have the opportunity for life. By hardening the hearts of a few men and women for a little while, God was able to prove His sovereignty over death and Sin for all time.
Therefore, if God wants to use me for his glory (which is true of all creation), then I should gratefully accept a hardened heart as the Spirit allows for that season.
The point is that God is ultimately glorified. Who am I to ask for a soft heart or a hard heart? I want a heart that glorifies the Lord- whether that is obvious or obscure to the rest of the world. I want to be obedient, no matter what that means. If the world despises me, if my life crumbles around me, if I am homeless living on the street, if I am a total failure by the world’s standards. As long as somewhere, somehow the Lord is being glorified.
“ ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy.
I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’
It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
