I wish I could say that deep theological reflection spurred my action, but I'll go ahead and admit that Matt Damon probably had more to do with my inspiration to head to the movie theater to see The Adjustment Bureau.
Had I known that the movie's aim was to cinematically explore theological issues like predestination and free will (and also to publically raise the question in so many minds of whether or not we should ever refer to God as "The Chairman"), I would have piously approached the event with the comforting knowledge that I was working all the while.
Amy Butler
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(Note to Personnel Committee: Witness the extreme level of commitment displayed by your pastor.)
Regardless of what got me there, at the end of the movie I was thinking theologically. It wasn't like the questions the movie raised are new to our corporate faith consideration. No, all the way home from the theater I found myself again pondering familiar questions — the same ones every human considers as we go through life all the while struggling to know "God's plan for our lives," or at the very least the course of action that will prove the "right" choice in the end.
To summarize the plot without giving too much away, David Norris and Elise Sellis, played by Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, discover there's a larger plan controlling their actions and decisions. Destiny is dictated by The Chairman, a mysterious figure in charge of everything. At each decision point they struggle to reconcile this discovery with the strong conviction that they actually have a say in the course of their own lives.
And while I probably would not recommend The Adjustment Bureau for deep theological inquiry, I was pleased that ultimately the movie seemed take the position that we have at least some measure of free will in this human life we lead. Glad to have my theological convictions confirmed by Hollywood, I just went on with life as usual.
But the very next day I happened to hear again the story of Eleazar in Genesis Chapter 24. I hadn't heard this passage in years, I'll admit, and had forgotten the finer points of the story.
Eleazar was Abraham's servant tasked with finding a wife for Isaac. So Eleazar makes a deal with God, asking God to send exactly the right girl to the well and have her offer him a drink. That way he would know that she was the right one, the one God had already chosen for Isaac.
Eleazar sets out to the well and sure enough, Rebekah shows up and offers him some water. Problem solved! Eleazar knew which girl to pick. God's will: revealed!
The story sounded to me a lot like The Adjustment Bureau, only with a much more cut-and-dried ending. And, having heard the Genesis story, I began to wonder about these questions all over again.
Still wondering.
In fact, I expect I'll wonder for a while about how I could ever possibly reconcile The Adjustment Bureau and Genesis 24, along with my own convictions about how God works in the world.
In the middle of all the swirling questions, the words of a beloved seminary professor came to mind. Faced with a tough decision between two wonderful job opportunities early in my career, I called him to agonize over which way to go.
"How do I know which choice is God's will?" I remember asking with the highest degree of anxiety. The last thing I wanted to do was make a mistake, choose the wrong way, deviate from the master plan.
I'll never forget: my professor laughed.
Then he said: "I am so glad to hear about these choices! Sounds to me like God is inviting you to have a say in the direction of your life. How exciting!"
I've pondered his words over and over and over in the 20 years since I first heard them. I'm pretty sure I don't believe that God directs our lives like a puppet master pulling strings. On the other hand, I really do think that God has a plan for each of our lives; I just can't see how we could walk through the twists and turns of human life without the divine presence and leadership of God. In summary, I just don't think I am really any closer to a definitive answer.
So, I guess I'll just stick to the questions. After all, they seem to be one of the places I most often encounter God anyway.
And I'll keep wondering, comforted by the knowledge that God is present and God will not leave, even if all I can do is keep wondering.
Amy Butler is senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington. This column was distributed by Associated Baptist Press.