Why do you think it is that God puts us in charge of our own eternal destiny?
We are not in charge of being born, but we are given the choice of where to spend eternity. Why would He do this when He knows we're made with limited understanding, doubt, susceptibility to Satan's lies, human ignorance, and pride?
He knows our human frailties and limitations. Sometimes I think He's given us too much power in this choice....this free will. Free will seems more like a trick, or a test, than a "gift" as we evangelicals like to think of it.
But, in the meantime, recent events have brought the issue to the surface again. And, I thought I would share some of my wife's thoughts on the subject. Its what might be called the "mechanical dog theory." If you haven't read my most recent blog, you might look at that first to put this in context. So here we go:
"I don't want you to think God had anything to with what happened to Ron. It's a little bit complicated to explain in some ways, but pretty simple in some ways also. The short version is that God gave us each free will, to do with as we choose. His ultimate hope is that we will use this gift of free will to CHOOSE HIM as the center of our lives and not only develop a personal relationship with God, but also use our time here to demonstrate through our own actions His love for all people.
This is the path Ron chose, and this is why he was so loved by so many and why his presence here will be so missed. He reflected God's love and gave it freely to those around him. But that same gift of free will allows us the option to go in the opposite direction and choose to do evil instead of good. When people choose to do evil it is, unfortunately, not always only themselves that they choose to hurt. The man who killed Ron did an evil thing and, even though Ron was innocent, it was he who paid the price for that man's evil act. We can see evidence all throughout the world (today and throughout recorded history) of innocent people suffering because of the evil perpetrated by others.
Why does God let this happen? I don't understand myself exactly why He doesn't always intervene on behalf of the innocent, when we do see that he sometimes does exactly that. I do know that if God intervened every time, it would mean that he had removed the gift of free will from us.
Why is it important to God that we have free will, even when we use it to do evil and hurt those he loves? Because He ultimately wanted us NOT to be the equivalent of robotic pets, programmed to follow Him without question. Because what value is there in that for Him? He wants us to CHOOSE to reciprocate His love, because when we choose Him of our own free will, the relationship becomes a REAL relationship. (Maybe a small example would be the difference we would feel in the relationship with our pets if they were robotic, like smart phones, and programmed to run and greet us at the door with great affection whenever we came into the house. How satisfying would that really be in comparison with a live, slobbery pet exhibiting genuine love and unbridled happiness because we are near?)
That's what God wants from us. In order to have the relationship be REAL, in order for our choice to be genuine, He has to take the chance that we will reject Him. And to make it all the harder, Satan is always here, working on us relentlessly, feeding us lies to get us to disbelieve in, or reject, God. (But even when we do reject Him, God never gives up on us. He comes after us time after time, never giving up hope that we will eventually realize who He is and how much He loves each of us. )"
My wife is pretty smart.
Blessings my friends.
This is the path Ron chose, and this is why he was so loved by so many and why his presence here will be so missed. He reflected God's love and gave it freely to those around him. But that same gift of free will allows us the option to go in the opposite direction and choose to do evil instead of good. When people choose to do evil it is, unfortunately, not always only themselves that they choose to hurt. The man who killed Ron did an evil thing and, even though Ron was innocent, it was he who paid the price for that man's evil act. We can see evidence all throughout the world (today and throughout recorded history) of innocent people suffering because of the evil perpetrated by others.
Why does God let this happen? I don't understand myself exactly why He doesn't always intervene on behalf of the innocent, when we do see that he sometimes does exactly that. I do know that if God intervened every time, it would mean that he had removed the gift of free will from us.
Why is it important to God that we have free will, even when we use it to do evil and hurt those he loves? Because He ultimately wanted us NOT to be the equivalent of robotic pets, programmed to follow Him without question. Because what value is there in that for Him? He wants us to CHOOSE to reciprocate His love, because when we choose Him of our own free will, the relationship becomes a REAL relationship. (Maybe a small example would be the difference we would feel in the relationship with our pets if they were robotic, like smart phones, and programmed to run and greet us at the door with great affection whenever we came into the house. How satisfying would that really be in comparison with a live, slobbery pet exhibiting genuine love and unbridled happiness because we are near?)
That's what God wants from us. In order to have the relationship be REAL, in order for our choice to be genuine, He has to take the chance that we will reject Him. And to make it all the harder, Satan is always here, working on us relentlessly, feeding us lies to get us to disbelieve in, or reject, God. (But even when we do reject Him, God never gives up on us. He comes after us time after time, never giving up hope that we will eventually realize who He is and how much He loves each of us. )"
My wife is pretty smart.
Blessings my friends.
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