Don't fuss and chide by the river side.

The Bible clearly presents in the strongest language both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. The sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man cannot be totally reconciled in the mind of man. To do so would be like attempting to pour the Atlantic Ocean into a small bucket.

Consider the following illustration. Here is a mighty river flowing from eternity past to eternity future. Its ultimate destination is the glory of God and the good of the elect. On either side of the river is a clay bank side. One side is called the Sovereignty of God Bank, and the other side is the Responsibility of Man Bank. Some of the elect can be seen standing on both banks discussing (and on occasion perhaps denouncing) the theology of the opposite bank dwellers. But in doing this, the great and glorious River of Grace flowing at their feet is overlooked. The perfect will of God would direct both sides to embark upon that river and experience all its bountiful blessings. It takes two bank sides to make a river.

As a final thought here, what happens to a river if one of its supporting banks is removed? This, of course, has happened to earthly rivers through earthquakes or enemy bombs. When this occurs, the once life-giving waters cease flowing and the river becomes an ill-smelling, insect-ridden swamp.

To overemphasize one aspect of election and ignore or deny the other side is to turn salvation’s river of redemption into a theological and sectarian swamp.

P. S. May I ask you to tell someone about Emmaus Bread?