God's Purposes Working Forward
In my last post, I discussed how heaven and hell work backwards in C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce. As I've thought more about this process, J.R.R. Tolkien's book, The Silmarillion, came to mind. At the beginning of The Silmarillion, there's a creation myth called The Music of Ainur that got me thinking about God's purposes working forward.
It's difficult to describe Tolkien's creation myth, but it is worth reading. The creator in Tolkien's story first creates supernatural beings and then invites them to participate in creation through music, but one of the supernatural beings rebels by repeatedly creating his own tune to compete with the creator's tune. The creator doesn't immediately destroy the rebellious being, nor does he destroy the competing tune; he subordinates it to his own melody.
I've seen artists work this way. I once observed a woodcarver who encountered a large knot in a piece of wood. I expected the woodcarver to toss the wood in the garbage. Instead, she incorporated the knot into the overall design. By the time she had completed her art-piece, the knot was so integral to the final design that I could no longer imagine the woodcarving without it.
I've heard jazz artists do the same thing while accompanying the lousiest version of "chopsticks" ever played on a piano. They were able to harmonize so well that you could barely pick out the sour notes from the piano.
According to Scripture, God is the Master Artist. He uses the knots to carve His masterpiece. There is no amount of discord that God cannot turn into music. After all, He created the chopsticks player and the wood and uses both to fit His purposes and to demonstrate His glory. In the end, God's will will ultimately be done.
Isaiah 46:9-10 "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure."
Proverbs 16:4 "The Lord hath made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil."
John 1:3 "All things were made by Him, and without Him, was not anything made that was made."
Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee."
Isaiah 64:8 "We are the clay and Thou our Potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand."
It's difficult to describe Tolkien's creation myth, but it is worth reading. The creator in Tolkien's story first creates supernatural beings and then invites them to participate in creation through music, but one of the supernatural beings rebels by repeatedly creating his own tune to compete with the creator's tune. The creator doesn't immediately destroy the rebellious being, nor does he destroy the competing tune; he subordinates it to his own melody.
I've seen artists work this way. I once observed a woodcarver who encountered a large knot in a piece of wood. I expected the woodcarver to toss the wood in the garbage. Instead, she incorporated the knot into the overall design. By the time she had completed her art-piece, the knot was so integral to the final design that I could no longer imagine the woodcarving without it.
I've heard jazz artists do the same thing while accompanying the lousiest version of "chopsticks" ever played on a piano. They were able to harmonize so well that you could barely pick out the sour notes from the piano.
According to Scripture, God is the Master Artist. He uses the knots to carve His masterpiece. There is no amount of discord that God cannot turn into music. After all, He created the chopsticks player and the wood and uses both to fit His purposes and to demonstrate His glory. In the end, God's will will ultimately be done.
Isaiah 46:9-10 "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure."
Proverbs 16:4 "The Lord hath made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil."
John 1:3 "All things were made by Him, and without Him, was not anything made that was made."
Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee."
Isaiah 64:8 "We are the clay and Thou our Potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand."
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