The Inscrutable Wisdom of God, Reviewed by: Bea Solenn Marasigan, Batangas
The Inscrutable Wisdom of God by Tito Frank Padilla examines one of the philosophies of Christian spirituality: why does God do something in a particular way when we cannot figure out His intentions or when they are not apparent to us? The book attempts to determine the reason behind God doing things which are difficult to comprehend. Inscrutable means that you simply cannot figure things out even you think you did your best to.
Tito Frank Padilla continues telling us that being without all the answers is alright. Although life may be dirty and painful or out of control, he does not want us to lose hope by abandoning our faith and believing that there is a purpose which we cannot see at this moment. One of the primary arguments Tito Frank gave is straightforward: we have little knowledge as compared to God. We desire life to be rational and smooth. That’s not always the case. At times we experience sickness, loss, failure or unexpected undesired changes. When that happens, it is only natural to question, “Why me?”. According to Tito Frank, this is the time when you should rely on God; where reason halts trust intervenes. He opines that all the puzzlement we experience today can make sense eventually and we can see some significance we missed before.
One example is the story of Joseph (Genesis 37).
His brothers betrayed him. Slave him–a bitter and costly business. Eventually those pains led him to a stage of rescuing several individuals when there was a famine. Tito Frank demonstrates the way in which God is planning and that the apparent misfortune or suffering may be a preparation of something. Tito Frank does not merely talk of trust, but he talks much about humility.
The modern world makes us manage everything and demand some certainty and knowledge. Faith to me, is abandoning that desire to have control. It is a sign of greater trust to accept that we are not knowing everything. He is sure that the true growth is achieved after we no longer work on our pride, but we seek the guidance of God that opens us to the change. The message of Tito Frank revolves around Jesus’ life and teachings. Whatever people expected in Jesus was not in his teachings.
He told such things as ‘the last shall be first’ and ‘love thy enemies’ which were inverted too most. This is best illustrated by this cross which seemed to be a defeat but a source of hope and salvation.
Tito Frank does not only discuss ideas; he also talks about the day-to-day life. He wants to make readers see the wisdom of God in relationships, hardships and everyday decisions. He focuses on prayer and communities of faith as the means to relate to the guidance of God.
You do not need to say it—prayer is a question of being a straight talker with God and hearing, particularly in hard times. Jesus brings peace according to the wisdom of God as held by Tito Frank. A lot of our stress is the result of us wanting to have control of everything on our own. When we wait to get to know everything before we trust out, we end up being frustrated and doubting.
Unless we let go, even when we are at cross purposes, we discover a peace that does not accord with human reason. It might not fix all problems. It empowers one not to stop. The issue of suffering is one that is discussed and Tito Frank does not profess to know everything about why good loving God permits pain. Still, he sees a side to it. Hardships may strengthen the faith, character and bring people nearer to God.
Considering saints and biblical character, he believes that problems are not challenges, sometimes they are the way people develop relations with God. A lot of wisdom and trust talk results in action. Tito Frank Padilla issues a challenge of living what they consider to be responding to the wisdom of God by being obedient. That is, the values of living such as love, forgiveness, generosity and service. Trust must manifest itself in the way we live allowing God to work in our decision. The message of Tito Frank is particularly topical at the moment when life is unpredictable, and most people are in need of meaning. He reminds us of the fact that we cannot see the wisdom of God working. Clinging to such a belief is not going to make life perfect. It is an agent of hope and strength.
In short, The Inscrutable Wisdom of God asks the reader to sit down with the mystery, to believe when things are not understood and regard everything bad in life as having a bigger plan to it. Tito Frank challenges us to humility and faith through narratives, thoughts and tips. The things that confuse us now might one day be made clear. Most importantly, he makes us remember that in mystery, God brings us to love, redemption and fulfillment of His plan.
