Will by Janet Parker, Associate Director I must admit that the phrase God s will conjures up images of a judgmental God for me. From my childhood fundamentalist background, I took God s will to mean that we should exhort people to give their lives to Jesus, lest they face eternal damnation. The phrase implies that God is human-like and has an agenda for us like a parent has a plan for his or her child to join the family business or become a star athlete. The agenda is not unique to each person, but a harsh command to live a certain way, a cookie-cutter approach to Christianity. The phrase God s will also reminds me of the notion that whatever happens in life is somehow up to God.
Television often spotlights people spared from the wrath of a tornado.
Invariably they say, It was God s will that we were not killed. But I am bothered that therefore, it was apparently God s will that other people were killed. There is a temptation to view a life with less tragedy as somehow more blessed by God. So I wrestle with the term God s will. I have come to define God s will as that which speaks to me of mystery, love, and the sacred.