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Of Wills and Planning

It’s that time of year again. That time when we look back over the past year and think about the things we hoped to do or to be, and resolve ourselves to do and be more in the coming year. ‘Tis a noble thing to do, and I’m grateful for a formal calendar reminder once a year to stop and take stock of life.

As a Christian, I can never evaluate the past, or look far into the future, without invoking the “Will of God.” I find that this phrase comes up often in conversations regarding plans and preparations, natural disasters and global warming, and predestination or free will. As I too look back on 2007 with grins and regrets, and forward to 2008 with resolve and trepidation, I want to share some thoughts on the elusive will of God.

Thought #1: God’s Will always starts where you are. It’s impossible to find ourselves in a place where we cannot do the right thing. The attentive will notice that I’ve just equated the Will of God with the Right Thing. It’s true… one definition of the Will of God, is the Right Thing, for you see, the Will of God is always the right thing to do. James puts it this way, Anyone then who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. It is impossible to sin while doing the Will of God, yet not doing the right thing is sin, thus doing the right thing and the Will of God run on very parallel tracks. The point here is that no matter what happened yesterday, it is possible for me to take the next right step and walk forward in the Will of God.

Thought #2: Do not confuse God’s goals with His sovereignty. It is a fairly orthodox position to view God as sovereign—having control over His creation. Nothing surprises Him. Nothing happens that is beyond His ability to influence or control. This however should not be confused with His desires regarding circumstances on Earth. Islamic extremists may have shouted in the name of Allah as they flew airplanes into U.S. buildings in 2001, but it was not the desire of Jehovah. How do I know this? Jehovah’s desires are not in conflict with His laws, and even the most religious atheist knows that Jehovah forbids murder. Does this mean that the Will of God was thwarted? Yes, but not His sovereignty.  This is the mystery embedded in the very nature of mankind. Sin occurs when a human exerts its will over the Will of Jehovah. If God’s Will were unimpeachable we would live in a very different creation. Needless to say, this article does not contain sufficient room to fully contain my thoughts along this point… Let me move on with this—God’s Will does not result in anything contrary to the character or nature of God.

Thought #3: God’s Will always comes to pass. This is in direct contradiction to the previous thought, but is not diminished because of this. God really is sovereign and on a bigger and higher sphere than I can understand He is working out His will on Earth. Tolkien described this idea in The Silmarilion as a master composer whose music was so deep, rich, and full that a malicious instrumentalist trying to play his own thing found that he was simply playing into the hands of the master. I cannot explain how Romans 8:28 which says that All things work together for God to those who love God and are called according to His purposes, but I believe it is true.

Thought #4: Be clear what you mean when you say God’s Will. The first three thoughts deliberately use God’s will in three different realms. One is small and personal—just me. The second is bigger, but still falls within the jurisdiction that God has given to man. The third is big, and speaks of God as the creator and ruler of His creation. It’s important to understand the jurisdiction in which we operate and that is under discussion!

A definitive discussion of God’s Will is far too big and divisive for a short blog post, but I want to leave you encouraged. You can live in God’s Will today; God is not wringing His hands up in heaven because people are trampling all over His will; and God is accomplishing His good purposes no matter what things look like around us!

Of Galleries and Celebrations

“How did your gallery go?” one might ask. It would be a good question… There were some very cool things that happened, and some, uh, not as cool things. By far the most amazing result of yesterday’s gallery was the salvation of one of the workers at the hotel. A Christian on staff at the hotel had been witnessing to her coworker for some time, but the woman was never willing to make a commitment for Christ. Yesterday that changed as she talked with Pat and Cathy Walsh and prayed to receive Christ as her savior. Thus add angels to the gallery celebration! I spent some time talking to a rather drunk man about his relationship with Christ as well. I believe that he was already a Christian, but is in a place of need. When I asked the man if he had any good Christian friends who could stand by him, he immediately burst into tears. I prayed for him, got his email address, and hope to be able to keep in touch. The gallery opened at 8am and went until 10pm. Things started and ended very slow, but we had an estimated 250 people visit throughout the day. 35 images, printed on canvas and stretched over wooden frames, ranged in size from 20”x20” to 48”x36”. We also had one huge panoramic shot of the Great Wall that was nearly 8 feet long! Everyone who came was very enthusiastic about the images and seemed to enjoy looking at them, but no one bought a thing. Yup… there was not a single sale! Many times throughout the day we would come to the place where a sale should go through: there was a buyer, the right image, the right price, etc., but it just wouldn’t. As I thought about this yesterday, I feel like I can see God’s hand in keeping sales from going through, but I don’t know why. All in all it was a very cool experience. I’ve never seen a collection of my own work like that before. It was a good opportunity to put on an event and learn something about advertising, marketing, and sales. Thank you all for your prayers and support! Let’s do it again sometime!

The Big Break

For the past week I have been feverishly pulling together a collection of my best images. The 4GB of RAM in my laptop has been tested and tried. A media blitz has hit the radio stations and newspapers of central Florida. Several photo labs have been tried and found lacking in the desired quality. Countless details have been worked over, and hopefully fallen into place. And right now 40 canvas wrapped prints up to eight feet long await their international debut at The Waterfront Inn at 8am tomorrow morning.

I am humbled by the realization that I could not do something like this on my own. I do not even have the money to print the images, much less pay for advertising, facilities, and the sundry other expenses that are going into this gallery. I am so grateful to those who are paying for this event, to those who have critiqued my work, and to those who simply believe in me when my own thoughts become dark and depressed.

I was talking with another friend last night about favorite scripture verses. There are a lot to choose from, but one of our mutual favorites was Romans 5:1 which says: Therefore, being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Tomorrow’s event has the potential to be my “big break” in photography, but it does not have to be because I have already had my big break spiritually. Someone has paid for me to have peace with God, and I really cannot ask for more.

Please pray for me, my sponsors, and this event. We will be on the floor from 8am to 10pm EST showing and selling pictures. Pray that God would bring a lot of people to the gallery. Pray that they would buy lots of images. And pray that God would continue to direct and bless my photography for His Kingdom.