One of the basic elements of love, at least from a human perspective, is risk. When we love deeply, freely, openly, honestly – we are vulnerable. And vulnerability of that kind always includes risk. Even speaking statistically – marriage is a 50/50 gamble these days. I also wondered – if we could know how many people in this world really love God, would God have a 50/50 chance, or would it be even worse? What we’re really risking isn’t just that we might lose our beloved. As humans that reality exists simply because death exists. The risk is that we will lose our beloved because they have the power to hurt us deeply through rejection. Ouch!
I ask this because it relates to Open Theism – the idea that God only knows the future insofar as he is able to predict natural and human behavior. This reasoning could perhaps be used as a defense of it, but I don’t introduce it here necessarily as such. But in short – love is risk. The more one loves, the greater the risk. The less we are willing to risk – the less we are able to engage in and experience what true and deep love is.
That said – is it also true of God? If God truly loves us – then God is also a risk taker. And, if God knows the future in definite terms, then is he truly taking a risk? If God knows who will and who won’t reject him – there is essentially no risk – no surprise. If the risk is reduced – is His love also reduced?
Now – on to ice storms. We just experienced the worst ice storm we’ve ever been through in Kansas. Okay, well, we’ve only been here six months and it is, in fact, the ONLY ice storm we’ve ever weathered in Kansas. But it’s been pretty bad. Thousands of people without electricity. We’ve been very fortunate in our neighborhood that we have kept electricity. We’ve had people at our house enjoying the warmth while their house gets colder by the minute. Those who are really suffering are those who have well water. They rely on on-site electric pumps for water. No electricity – no water – no heat. The exception is those who, of course, have generators and fire places.
I feel confident we will survive in one form or another.
