I have just begun to read John Piper’s book Providence. It will take me awhile since it is 711 pages…but I figure I made it through The Count of Monte Cristo as a high school student, so I can handle this. I am wondering what insights it might give me as I struggle with the loss of my husband. I believe in God’s sovereignty and providence. I believe God orchestrated my husband and me meeting, so I must also believe it was His hand that brought about our parting. Sovereignty and providence bring comfort.
John Piper and I graduated from Wheaton College the same
year. I would not, however, presume to
call us “classmates.” We were never in
an actual class together, I never spoke to him until decades later at a
conference, and we did NOT travel in the same circles. As a college student, he was already “known,”
and his potential recognized. I was an
obscure oddity. I entered college having
already completed nursing school. I was
paying my own way through college, so I was off campus a great deal
working. Also, I was a chemistry
major. Nurses normally majored in Nursing
and took a watered-down chemistry course referred to as “nurses chem.” I had developed a fascination with the
chemistry of the body and the way in which medications worked. Chemistry satisfied me intellectually.
If known for anything, girl chemistry majors were
maligned. The notion circulated that we
were only there to meet guys who were going to be doctors in hopes of an
advantageous marriage. My senior year
there was an article in the campus newspaper discussing the best places on
campus to study. A male chemistry major
stated that the best place to study was the Chemistry Library, because “have
you ever seen the girl chemistry majors?”
His meaning, of course, was that guys would not be distracted by our
physical appearance. If I had not been
already engaged at that point, I am afraid I might have carried out something
about which I have since fantasized. At
the age of 23, I had rather “stunning” proportions which I modestly
disguised. I would have loved to have
maximized them and strutted through the library in a clear attempt to
distract.
All of that to say, I was an unknown entity. I am not now, nor have I ever been a
theologian, so it is probably presumptuous for me to give my view on Providence. Nevertheless, I am guessing that John Piper
has taken 711 pages to say what I have been saying for decades:
All of the elements of the universe and of our
individual lives are like pieces in a gigantic and infinitely complex Rubik’s
cube. The hands of God move the pieces
about in such a manner that they are always working toward His glory and our
ultimate good. He alone knows the
solution and exactly how to achieve it.
Three sentences versus 711 pages. I just finished page 45. I’m sure John’s approach is more scholarly
than mine, and that I will enjoy and be challenged by it.
Now about that complementarianism….
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