Some Reflections after reading portions of Desiring God by John Piper

What makes topics of God's sovereignty so much harder to deal with is the fact that it is real in our lives and it can caused us to think both mentally and emotionally. If a doctrine is close to our heart it is hard to let go of it and rationally think about possible alternatives. The idea of God's sovereignty has proved to be a topic of great challenge and sleepless night for the longest time. There are still many objections on both sides of the debate, so I want to challenge you to take your own stand when it comes to the idea of God's sovereignty and what you personally believe. Jonathan Edwards tried to explain God's mystery this way: "the infinite complexity of the divine mind is such that God has the capacity to look at the world through two lenses. " through His narrow lens He sees humans for who and what they are. He sees their sin and is both angered and grieved. But through His wide angle lens He sees how the tragedy of sin fits into His design. He delights in what he sees, because He sees the sin in relation to everything leading up to it and everything flowing out from it, and His end results of glory for Himself.A good example of looking into both lenses is the death of Jesus Christ. Isaiah tells us that the event of Christ's death would cause God much grief. (This is the narrow lens.) Nevertheless, Hebrews tells us that it was the will of God to allow His Son to die for us. God thought it was fitting to perfect the pioneer of our salvation through suffering.Do not take me wrong here, because I am no way ignoring or minimizing the anger and grief of God against evil. Nor am I inferring that through this wrath and sorrow that God is frustrated with His creation and cannot keep it under control.This topic is rather complex and interesting, if I had more understanding of this idea then I would elaborate much more about redemptive history and God's view of both lenses, but I personally am still learning a great deal about these ideas and trying myself to figure it all out.