Thrusted Into Existence

Acts 17:24–32

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He himself gives all life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that people would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 'For in Him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are His offspring.' "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all by raising Him from the dead." When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject."

Our liberties are not absolute in the face of a sovereign God. He determined the times set for each of us and the exact places where we should live (v. 26). The prophet Isaiah writes of God, “declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure; (Isa 46:10).” German existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger wrote of being “thrusted into existence”, that being born wasn’t our own choice, he felt it unfair. From our standpoint as Christians however, God chooses our birth, death, and everything that happens to our lives, although we have been given much sacred liberty and free will, God ultimately orchestrates it all taking in consideration our freedom counterfactuals and creates the circumstances and environment into which in His omniscience He knows how we will respond. God is the one who chooses whom to “thrust into existence” and this is not unfair because this is a tremendous gift—the gift of life. It is a blessing to exist, and to find fulfilment in relationship with the infinite God, the paradigm of absolute goodness and love. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul preached at the Areopagus, that “God did this so that people would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us (v. 27),” and through the resurrection of Christ, His Son, His anointed one, we are brought even closer to Him (v. 31). Indeed, “He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness” He gives us “rain from heaven and fruitful seasons,” filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). It is a wonderful privilege to have been given life by the Author, not only that, but that we may be in an intimate loving relationship with Him, let us pray, “Father, thank You that You are the God of the universe, yet You have chosen to use us to draw others into intimacy with You. Grant me the wisdom and boldness to connect with others and share Your Good News. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”