According to Christian theology this universe, particularly life upon this planet, has been adversely affected by the very first sovereign human beings who made a very bad decision at the beginning of human history. We may protest, "But that isn't fair! Why should their bad decision affect me?" If we were isolated from one another such a protest might have relevance, but we were created in God's image, meaning we were created in community. God created human life as a reflection of His own deity, which according to the New Testament, is a divine community Christians call the Trinity. In the Trinity there is total agreement of will so that all decisions are focused on the total good.

    In human society, composed of sovereign decision makers, not all decisions are made for the common good, but rather upon convenience of the decider. This creates an increasingly fragmented world. That fragmentation results in a multitude of sorrows.

    So what is the role of the sovereign God who got it all started? It is to love us in the midst of our decisions, good or bad. It is to remain faithful to us all along our journey, through good times and bad. It is to show us how far in His love for us God is willing to go by letting us make decisions which even affect God by letting us crucify Jesus. It is to offer us His power to take even the worse life can hand us and bring good out of it if we are willing to trust Him. It is to let us cry and scream and rail at Him without turning His back on us. It is to assure us that whatever it is we experience in life in this fallen and broken world, that truth be known, "We ain't seen nothing yet!" It is to promise us that death, pain, sorrow, weakness, disability do not have the last word, but that the Sovereign God alone has that prerogative. Which means His sovereignty in the end is all that matters. He writes the first chapter of life, we write the next chapters with His assistance if we want it, but writing the last chapter is His right alone, and His promise is that chapter is written large in terms of peace and joy and love! That is what I rest my hope upon, and that is what gets me through this Valley of the Shadow of Death that is the best description of what we call life in this world.

    Yours in our Sovereign God, Brother David