The Existentialists Have Said

There comes a point in one's life when he realizes that his life is and has been chosen by him and that he is responsible for it.

These are hard words, but I think true. How might this fit into a theology of a greater sovereignty outside of ourselves?

Look at your hand.

You chose to do (or not to do) that. You choose to continue reading these words. You choose what you're going to do next and how you use the knowledge of your life to inform that decision. A sovereignty outside of ourselves, though I truly believe it, is inconsequential regarding your next decision to love or not love somebody, to move or not move closer to another, to heed or not to heed someone's advice.

Grace allows us to make good decisions. The presence of a Holy Spirit gives us the ability (also known as power) to do so.

But in the end, you are responsible for your life.

Matthew 25:31-46

Edifying Thoughts of a Tobacco Smoker

How oft it happens when one's smoking:
The stopper's missing from its shelf,
And one goes with one's finger poking
Into the bowl and burns oneself.
If in the pipe such pain doth dwell,
How hot must be the pains of Hell.

Thus o'er my pipe, in contemplation
Of such things, I can constantly
Indulge in fruitful meditation,
And so, puffing contentedly,
On land, on sea, at home, abroad,
I smoke my pipe and worship God.



/J.S. Bach