"A sovereign God who wills against his ultimate will, who superintends a universe of a hundred billion galaxies and yet lavishes intimate attention on its tiny creatures - how can I comprehend such a God?" - Philip Yancey in Rumors of Another World
It's true isn't it? God does point us in opposite directions sometimes. He can point us one way and His created world will point us in another. Why does God seem to put us in these situations where His will for us is different than the world's? Is it to "make a teaching point"? Is it to see if we are "cut out" for a journey in faith? If I were forced to guess I would probably say a mixture of both hypothesis'. I think God loves throwing us out into His world and letting us learn things for ourselves. Only so much can be learned through books. To really grasp concepts, you must dive headfirst into them. And at the same time, that process will filter out some who are not ready.
"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." - Matthew 7:14
The second part of the above quote is one that no one will ever be able to comprehend. God is well... God over everything - You, me, the smallest blade of grass in your yard, the deer you shot at this Fall, and your neighbor's dog. He is God and He rules over every living thing, yet He still loves each as a child of His own. Just imagine this, the love your parents have for you, times a billion or so, then multiplied by everything in Creation. But that doesn't even compare to how much He loves. He loves everything in Creation to death, and that is impossible to comprehend. Now and forever. To give your mind a little provoking, I leave you with another Philip Yancey quote from further down the page-
"Astonishingly, the Creator seldom imposes Himself on His creatures. It requires attention and effort on our part to "remember your Creator," because the Creator slips quietly backstage. God does not force his presence on us. When lesser gods attract, God withdraws, honoring our fatal freedom to ignore Him"
