Time Travel, God, and Your Dinner Order: Do You Really Have Free Will?
Have you ever asked yourself, If God already knows everything I’m going to do… do I actually have a choice? That question landed in my inbox recently, and it’s a deep one. But instead of diving into theology or philosophy textbooks, I want to explore it the way my brain works best — with stories, time travel, and a side of dinner.
The Dinner Menu Thought Experiment
Imagine we’re sitting at a restaurant together. The server hands you a menu. You look at it and think:
“Do I want a burger? Pasta? Maybe just dessert?”
In that moment, you have full free will. You could choose anything. Now pause for a second — go ahead and pick something in your mind. Got it?
Okay, now let’s say I have a time machine. Earlier this morning, I jumped ahead in time, met Future You, and asked, “Hey, what did you have for dinner tonight?” You told me. I wrote it down, and then I zipped back to the present.
So now we’re sitting here again, looking at that menu. I already know what you’re going to pick — but I’m not going to tell you. I’m not going to influence your decision in any way. I’m just going to watch it unfold.
And sure enough, you make your choice. And I say, “Aha! I knew it.”
Did I Control You?
Not at all. You had free will. You chose from the menu exactly what you wanted. I just happened to know ahead of time what your choice would be, because I cheated — I stepped outside of linear time.
Now imagine God doing the same thing, but on a much grander, timeless scale. God isn’t limited to time the way we are. We’re stuck walking forward through the timeline — one step at a time — but God sees the whole thing at once.
Past, present, and future aren’t separate events to God. They’re like a single, living painting. So yes, I believe we have free will — and yes, I believe God already knows what we will freely choose. Not because our choices are controlled, but because they’re witnessed from beyond time.
God’s View is Bigger — But Your Choices Still Matter
To me, that doesn’t make free will meaningless. It makes it beautiful. Because God knows what I’m going to do — and still loves me. Still walks with me. Still gives me the gift of choice.
We’re not puppets. We’re co-creators, loved into being with freedom at the core of who we are.
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💬 What do you believe about free will and destiny?
Do you feel like your life is guided, predetermined, or unfolding by your own hand? I’d love to hear your thoughts — share in the comments below!
