In Which God Authored Grace

In Sunday School we are reading "Spectacular Sin" by John Piper (great book by the way, I definitely recommend it). Yesterday we talked about how in order for grace to come true, there had to be sin for there to be something for God to save us from.  "Saving grace was the plan that made sin necessary. God did not not find sin in the world and then make a plan to remedy it. He had the plan before the ages, and that plan was for the glory of sin-conquering grace through the death of Jesus Christ" (59). Essentially, sin was necessary for God's grace to even matter. But that doesn't mean that God created sin. It means that he allowed it. Which is an interesting and weird concept all together, but it show's Gods amazing and awesome sovereignty. He knew His plan before He even had a plan.

I'm also currently reading Narnia over again in preparation for Seminary. Yes, it's necessary. You don't know how much these people love their Christian fiction. It's great. But anyway, in The Magicians Nephew, the first book in the series, Digory and Polly get sent to another world and through a series of events end up in the beginning of Narnia with an evil witch, their uncle who sent them there and a Cabby and his wife.

Before this world even started, there was evil in it. Do you see what C.S. Lewis did there? Clever. The evil witch was in the Narnia before Narnia even began. How is that possible? How is there evil without there being anything? Good question. But it's interesting to think about the parallels here.

As Aslan creates the world he sings and breathes it into existence, much like our God. He creates the grass and the trees and the landscape, valleys and mountains and oceans and lakes. Every kind of animal we know and we don't know. He is the image of God in our world. And much about Narnia is similar to the way God created our world (smart, C.S., I see what you did there).

Before Narnia began there was evil. " You see friends...that before the new, clean world I gave you is seven hours old, a force of evil has already entered it; waked and brought hither by this son of Adam...evil will come of evil, but it is still a long way off, and I will see to it that the worst falls upon myself" (161). Before our Earth began, God knew that there would be evil that He would need to overcome. It was a part of His plan, and it is more majestic, and beautiful and magnificent than we will EVER realize.

It's amazing how BIG God is. He's big. He's REALLY big. He has everything in His hands and has a perfect plan for all of it. And that is incredible. And life-giving. He made us, for His purpose. Not the other way around. And that gives me hope, and freedom to live as He called me to live because I have been and am being redeemed daily. I can do nothing wrong in His eyes and that gives me freedom to be who He called me to be. To be sanctified. Humbled. Redeemed. Loved.