In Chapter 3 of Gary Black’s The Theology of Dallas Willard, Black talks about the “Essentia Dei” of Willard’s theology.  Basically, Essentia Dei is the notion of constantly pursuing the nature or essence of God, which is a central theme of Willard’s beliefs.  This viewpoint is reinforced by the words of Jesus.  In His teachings, Jesus explained the nature of God Himself, not just His kingdom.  I agree that this way of thinking is essential to understanding and believing in God.  Heaven is the place that all Christians aspire to reach, but understanding Heaven is pointless without first understanding God. 

            Black quotes Adam Clark in his description of God.  I really like what Clark has to say.  He speaks of God as “eternal, independent and self-existent… whose purpose springs from himself, without foreign motive or influence”.  I definitely appreciate Clark’s quote on God.  The simplicity in his speech gives all the more contrast to the notion that understanding God is not possible with the limits of our humanity.  Clark’s words seem to mirror what everyone already believes.  No Christian would argue that God is not completely omnipotent or that He makes decisions based off of factors not inherent to Himself.  Yet, I think that we often associate God with lesser beings.  Maybe because of His son’s humanity, we believe that God also is affected by mankind in a way that Jesus was.  We must remember though, that God is above all things; the choices He makes are solely His, they are far beyond us.  Sometimes the things He lets happen do not make sense to us, they can even seem cruel or unfair.  We need to remember though, that He is in control of everything, and it is completely understandable for his actions not to make sense to us because our understanding cannot hope to relate to God’s omniscience.