Omniscience
I've often heard the omniscience of God described as similar to that of parents who know their children well. God knows us so well he can predict our behavior in any situation. I'm really beginning to understand this as a parent. For example, yesterday I asked S-Boogie to change out of her church dress because we were going on a nature walk. She got upset because "all her friends wear dresses to play", so I pointed out a different dress that was more appropriate for play and said she could wear it to school in the morning. I figured she would probably get up and put it on, and sure enough, she did. Normally getting her dressed is an extended process involving a lot of whining and asking for help. This morning she was fully dressed, including tights, before emerging from her room. Just as I predicted.
A little while ago Little Dude started a very bad habit of removing his pajama pants and diaper at night. So far the only serious incident we had involved pee, but tonight when S-Boogie came out of the room to say "it's stinky" I knew exactly what I would find. Little Dude had his diaper off and his hands full of poop. Nice big mess to clean up. I knew that was going to happen some day, so I guess the real question is why I did nothing to stop it. It mainly has to do with the fact that he only has two pairs of zip-up pajamas (we put them on backwards so he can't undo the zipper) and his pajamas with pants and shirt are adorable. Well, I'm willing to sacrifice cuteness for cleanliness, so it is with great sadness that we're going to retire his dino jammies for the time being. I'm smart enough to know that allowing him the experience of feeling his own poop is unfortunately not enough to impress his little brain to never do it again. I guess that goes with another theory of the origin of God's omniscience--He's been around long enough to predict anything that will happen. Maybe if I have a few more kids I can approach that point in my life, but I'm not sure it's worth it.
A little while ago Little Dude started a very bad habit of removing his pajama pants and diaper at night. So far the only serious incident we had involved pee, but tonight when S-Boogie came out of the room to say "it's stinky" I knew exactly what I would find. Little Dude had his diaper off and his hands full of poop. Nice big mess to clean up. I knew that was going to happen some day, so I guess the real question is why I did nothing to stop it. It mainly has to do with the fact that he only has two pairs of zip-up pajamas (we put them on backwards so he can't undo the zipper) and his pajamas with pants and shirt are adorable. Well, I'm willing to sacrifice cuteness for cleanliness, so it is with great sadness that we're going to retire his dino jammies for the time being. I'm smart enough to know that allowing him the experience of feeling his own poop is unfortunately not enough to impress his little brain to never do it again. I guess that goes with another theory of the origin of God's omniscience--He's been around long enough to predict anything that will happen. Maybe if I have a few more kids I can approach that point in my life, but I'm not sure it's worth it.
Comments
The first time I read this analogy was actually in Jesus the Christ. It was talking about whether or not God knows we'll make mistakes. Talmadge gave an allegory of a father predicting his son will go to prison as he begins all these rotten behaviors. The father, not wanting this to be the outcome, does everything in his power to help the son who doesn't choose to be helped and yes, ends up in prison. We do not say the father is somehow responsible for where his son ended up (though in real life that isn't always the case), or that he CAUSED him to go to prison. He just knew his son's character well enough to see clearly where he was headed. I still have a hard time understanding the whole foreordination stuff . . . any insights you've got there would be awesome.