Why Not Control?

If God is not in control, why not? Why is an all powerful being not working his magic in our lives--doing good for all that are good and dealing out pain to all who deserve it? Why isn't he working to make my life work out? Answers to those questions aren't easily found, and even if I knew every answer and could explain them in a perfect way, I'm not sure you could except the answer. However, I will try to discuss the above questions as best as I can.

First of all, why does God choose not to be in control? In earlier posts I talked about how God wants a relationship with us more than anything else. Consider everyone with whom you've had a relationship that used an element of control within the relationship. Were your parents controlling? If not, was there a teacher, boss, co-worker, boyfriend, girlfriend, wife or husband who tried to control you? Did you love them for it? I'm not asking if you loved them. I want to know whether or not their control of your life enabled you to love them?

Probably not. I had a supervisor, a fellow Christian, who tried to control me--to "micromanage" me in a position in which I was serving the church. He wanted me to do certain things in order that the ministry of the church succeed. To give him the benefit of the doubt, I will say that he, in fact, wanted me to succeed. But his path to success involved me coming to him with every decision I made, and it required that I do precisely what he wanted me to do in the way he wanted me to do it. As one could imagine, this did not serve the friendly relationship we had before he was my supervisor. Just the opposite happened. Animosity grew in our relationship. Actually, there were times when I felt inches away from doing him physical harm. I suppose I hated him. I have since had to recognize how much I was in the wrong for entertaining these emotions, but the truth remains, his control of me did not maintain a relationship it destroyed it.

Consider also the parent who seeks only their children's happiness, giving their children everything they wish and removing every obstacle in their child's way whether it is a consequence for bad behavior or a teacher who assigns them too much homework. Is this how a loving parent-child relationship is fostered. Not at all. This kind of parenting results not in love but in resentment on both sides. Plus, such parenting often makes children unable to succeed in the world.

If God is going to have a loving relationship with his children. He is going to have to do so without stepping in at every moment to rescue them from harm, and shower them with good at every moment of their lives.

He needs a better plan.