The Will of God: Backyard Theory

WARNING: Even after shortening, the following remains a Pleonasm.

I had written an extensive article about a little ‘theory’ I have on discerning the Will of God in our lives, concerning those times it’s just ever-so-hard to figure out what it is we should do.

It was too long.

In short, it goes something like this:
Imagine that you’re a parent. As a child of God, we could say that we are His children. Suppose also that you, as a parent, have a fenced-in back yard, and that you have built several things for your child to play on or with.

Perhaps a Sandbox, a Swingset, and a Tricycle.

Your house faces a somewhat busy road. Loving your child and desiring him or her to have a good time, you decide to let your child out to play. Herein is Backyard Theory.

You know your child is safe to play in the back yard. You have provided choices for your child, in a protected area that you have deemed safe. It is, of course, perfectly fine for your child to go and play in the sandbox. Or perhaps on the swingset. Or maybe even both, assuming he or she becomes bored, or less amused with the first… or just desires to do a bit of discovery.

The only real danger being that your child might leave the fenced in area, discovering areas that are not as safe or controlled as the backyard may have been. The danger of that young child wandering into the busy road arises, or just perhaps exploring too far, and getting lost somewhere a few houses down from yours.

What if – sometimes – God doesn’t necessarily have a specific ‘Will‘ for your life?

What if, just maybe, He has decided that you are mature enough to make your own decisions, following certain guidelines, and staying within a ‘backyard’ type area… where there might be more than one option, all perfectly acceptable under the “Will of God”.

In that case, I don’t think it would be very hard to figure out where the fence-line is, and what is outside of the fence.

This, however (to say it like my grandmother might have) is no reason not to pray about your decisions, by golly!

Good googley moogley – if anyone can come up with a shorter, more concise way of explaining that, please email me!