The following reading is based on an excerpt from my book, Be Blessed. May you be wrapped in the warmth of God’s love and blessing today.
C.S. Lewis was asked why he thought God gave people free will. He responded by saying, “Why did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.”
It seems reasonable to imagine that God could have built blind obedience into our DNA, giving us no choices about the way we live our days on earth. Instead, out of love for us, He chose to make it possible to build a relationship with Him. He wanted us to decide whether we would walk the earth alone, or acknowledge Him as Creator and look to Him when we needed help. It seemed like a good idea. If we chose to build a relationship with the God of the universe, and His beloved Son, we got a lifetime pass for eternity, with some extra help here on earth thrown in. All we had to do was make a choice.
As human beings, we make choices every day. We may not always give much thought to the easier ones, at least those with fewer consequences. After all, we like to be in charge. The freedom to choose anything though comes with a cost and takes wisdom and awareness of all the options. As we weigh our direction we seek advice or help from people with experience or expertise. We do our best to be wise in what we choose.
When we have a relationship with God, He strengthens us through the work of the Holy Spirit. What that means is we are not alone. Ever! We have help immediately in the form of prayer, comfort and peace of mind. God drew near to us because that’s what love does. Love comes in when other things change. Having free will is what makes the difference then.
Free will means you can ignore Him or embrace Him. Either response is significant and comes with a cost. As it says in 2nd Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Think of it! You can freely choose to honor and love the One who already knows everything about you, forgives your foolishness, and inspires your heart. You are free then to always have the help of your Father in heaven, and of your faith family on earth. You’ve literally got the best of both worlds.
It appears that God has given you what every good parent provides, “Roots and Wings.”
Be blessed, dear friends, and know you are beloved for all time and you’ve chosen well.