Recently I produced a short video about Joni Eareckson Tada’s view that God does not speak to us verbally or with impression today, but only through His Word. See here if you are interested.

Toward the end of the video, I indicated that because God does not tell us what job to take, where to live, whom to marry, and so forth, there is a lot of uncertainty in the Christian life. I thought it would be worth a blog to discuss the issue of certainty and uncertainty.

If we understand and believe God’s Word, then whatever He reveals is certain. Here are some examples of things about which we are certain: God is a Trinity; Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit; Cain killed Abel; the patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; there are twelve tribes of Israel; Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead; He died on the cross for our sins and rose bodily from the grave on the third day; He appeared to people during a period of forty days and ascended to heaven; He guarantees everlasting life to all who believe in Him for it; He will come again soon; He will judge all believers at the Bema and all unbelievers at the Great White Throne Judgment; He will rapture the Church before the seven-year Tribulation begins; He will establish His millennial kingdom on this earth after renovation and will reign from Israel; after the Millennium, He will destroy the heavens and the earth and will then create a new heavens and a new earth; He will rule forever from the New Jerusalem on the New Earth.

Of course, we know for certain that all the things God forbids in Scripture (for this dispensation) are displeasing to Him. And we know that those things He commands (for this age) are pleasing to Him.

But there is a lot we don’t know.

The Lord Jesus has given us all time, talent, and treasure. He has told us to invest what we have until He returns and judges us (e.g., Luke 19:13 15-26). But here’s the rub. He did not tell us what to do to best use what we have.

A man might have giftedness that would allow him to be lawyer, medical doctor, plumber, entrepreneur, seminary professor, pastor, missionary, or politician. He has lots of choices. A woman has all those choices; she could also choose to be a stay-at-home mom, at least while her children are small, assuming she marries and is blessed with kids. Or, like many women today, she might choose to raise kids and work full-time or part-time. Lots of choices are good. But some are better, and one is best. You won’t know when you decide on an occupation whether it is good, better, or best. Many people change their occupation multiple times as they try to find the best.

Let’s say you earn millions in your lifetime. How best should you invest that money for eternity? How much goes toward a house? Cars? Food? Clothing? Vacations? Insurance? Education? Recreation? Giving? A second house? Retirement? College fund? And so forth. There are lots of decisions. If you are wise, you are not laying up treasure on earth, but in heaven (Matt 6:19-21). But how do you decide between various options when you don’t know which is good, which is better, and which is best?

Have you ever invested money in mutual funds? Individual stocks? Bonds? CDs? Some of those things have guaranteed returns. Some are risky, but the potential return is much better than the investments with low guaranteed returns.

Investing in eternity is like that. You should seek to do your best to invest your time, talent, and treasure wisely. But you won’t know until the Bema how you did. Paul said, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”ⁱ

Life is tricky. Work all the time and your family will suffer and so will your health. You need time for rest and recreation. But how much time? Is twenty hours a week too much time for swimming, running, lifting weights, golfing, hunting, and fishing? Thirty? Ten? And what recreation is best for you?

If, as many believe, God talks to you and tells you what to do, then life should be simple. You wouldn’t have to decide on a job, a house, a car, your clothes, your spouse, your church, your school, and so forth. God would just tell you.

But if God does not tell you everything, it makes life…challenging. You aren’t guaranteed to make the best choices or even the better choices. Sometimes you might not even make a good choice, even though what you chose was not sinful.

Read the many rewards parables and you will see that we need to make decisions on how to invest our lives. But we know for sure that He will reward us for faithful service. He will say, “Well done, good servant,” (Luke 19:17) if we endure in faithful service to Him.

Keeping grace in focus is vital to maximizing our lives for Christ.