Part 2 – Is there an “Adjustment Bureau”?
Job 23:13, Psalms 33:11, Malachi 3:6
In 2011 a movie was released that asked a theological question in the format of a romantic adventure flick. A boy meets a girl who was not in God’s plan for him, but true love changes God’s plan for the couple and the future surrounding them. It was called “The Adjustment Bureau” and it propounded the concept that God’s plans are flawed, and that they can be changed by the sincere efforts of humans who somehow know better than God.
God is not afraid of our inquiries into the methods and characteristics of His Kingdom. Indeed, Jesus used parable after parable to state: “The kingdom of heaven is like…” Mathew 13:44; Matt. 13:47; Matt. 20:1, etc. God wants us to know what his kingdom looks like, and how He operates. However, Jesus’s efforts were to tell us about a God that is omnipresent and immutable. Jesus wanted us to know God can be counted on to be consistent and always there for us. He also wants us to know that God can be understood and relied upon.
Job 23:13 notes that God is in one mind and no one can turn Him. Psalm 33:11 says that the counsel of the lord stands forever. Isaiah 40:13 asks: Who can direct the Spirit of God or be His counselor? Malachi 3:6 confirms that He is the Lord and He does not change. Consequently, the simple answer is that, no, we don’t change God. Thankfully, He is the same now and forever, and He loves us in spite of our flaws and foibles. Don’t we want a God like that, one who can be counted on, and one who is consistent? one that won’t ever leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5)?
Dana Martin
