Does God Have a Prioritized List?

     I am feeling a nudge of late to write some thoughts about the Ultimate Reconciliation myth because so many who are opposing it are doing so in a way that prevents those who have been enamored by it from hearing them--think about that one for a minute. Now to give you a hint about my approach, my concerns about this strange teaching have more to do with how unloving and incompetent God ends up looking--how's that for a surprising approach? But I won't write until God's heart and thoughts have been more fully clear to me about this, so today I write about another lesser myth: the notion that God has a priority list in terms of helping us and blessing us.

     This topic was triggered by words that came from my own mouth just a few minutes ago. I was lifting a personal need to Papa and heard myself saying, "I know there are others with far greater needs" (with the implication that their needs should therefore take priority over my lesser need. Papa quickly interrupted that thought by reminding me that any need of any of His creatures has first priority to Him ("His eye is on the sparrow," remember???). That set me to thinking, of course, and here's a few thoughts as to why God can care equally (infinitely) about every need.

     First, God doesn't need a priority list because He is infinitely loving and powerful. Infinite love is able to embrace the largest and deepest needs (He weeps with those who weeps and draws near to the broken-hearted, etc.). But because it is infinite, His love is at the same time able to embrace and meet the smallest need of the least of His creatures. We have to prioritize things because we have limited resources. God is unlimited in both caring and ability, so everything can be of equal concern to Him.

     Second, God doesn't need a prioritized list because He is all-knowing (omniscient) and present everywhere (omnipresent). We need prioritized lists because we cannot be everywhere at once and because we are limited in what we know to be important or true. Neither of these are issues for God! Knowing everything all at once and being everywhere all the time gives Papa the ability to care equally powerfully for everyone--no list needed in that case, eh?

     This third one is a bit harder, at least for me. Sometimes when I look at the suffering around me I begin to shrink back from asking God for good things that don't seem so important in light of someone else's suffering. But once when I was thinking these thoughts, Papa pointed out to me that all the suffering around me doesn't change His nature. He is the infinitely and completely good Father, who wants to give good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:7-11) even while He enters into the suffering of those caught up in great pain (which He did and continues to do for my family and me during our painful journey!). You see, God's nature is to bless and bless and bless, so someone else's tragedy never defines His posture towards me or anyone else in any way except to bless (and I know now from personal experience that He is blessing greatly even in the midst of great sorrow and pain. Glory and honor to you forever, beloved and holy Father!).

     But saying all of this about doesn't mean that He doesn't stretch us constantly to get past ourselves to a place of increasing God-focus and other-focus. If we never get beyond asking for a favored parking place we are a terribly stunted. Not that that's wrong, but if that's all you do you have missed the heart of God rather badly! (I ask for God to give the person behind me a favored space and I look for one farther away so that the prayer can be answered, but that's just me, I guess!) So God doesn't have a prioritized list for how He responds to need, and He will keep blessing and blessing to those who ask (says so right in the Bible!), but in His blessing He is also always inviting us to live out the life we have already been placed into (seated with Him in the heavenly realms, hidden in Him with Christ)--amazing!

I hope this is clear.