Two things which are in separable – God’s love and the cross. Those are inseparable from His love for you as you are sealed into a potent inseparable relationship with God Himself.
“It is good that you recognize the cross as the great symbol of My love. It stands out far above anything else in history – it is the marking point of the world’s destiny and any words about love or any other emotion which don’t have the cross somewhere in mind are not permanent or absolute. So, revel in that awful symbol of cruelty because it is there where your freedom was won because of My deep, deep love for you. This is the great enigma of the Christian faith like so many others which are often difficult to grasp – however let these thoughts just lift you up and carry you forward as you revel in that reality which you can see of a love which you cannot always see and grasp”.
Today I will pause and address Lilly’s concern about whether we have freedom to choose. This is a vast subject and one which has caused great contention in the past, so it is impossible in the space I have today to deal with it exhaustively. What I will do is put forward a number of thoughts concerning the subject for you all to ruminate over.
To start with there are some concepts which are clearly defined in God’s word and others which are not so clearly defined but revealed in many different ways as the bible story unfolds. As one reads this story, ideas which seem to contradict each other or seem to express opposing views sometimes come to the fore. There are a number of such apparent enigma’s in the word. I like to think that the truth lies, held in tension between them. They are often difficult to grasp completely and lead us back to realize the God is so much greater and wiser than we are and His ways “unsearchable” in Paul’s words in Romans 11:33. That is when we have to step back and be careful of making definite judgements when He has not given us a clear one Himself. It is tempting to try and put God in a box where everything is clear and cut and dried and you can understand Him completely. He will not allow that however, He is always mystical in a way and far above that.
Going back to the beginning of the creation story we are presented with God’s interaction with the first people He has created. He, in somewhat pictorial language gives them a choice. They could follow Him or follow their own way. He clearly did this because of His intention in creating man as expressed for instance in Acts 17:27 “God did this (created man) so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him” God wanted a being who would seek to have a relationship with him.
When man decided to follow their own way in rebellion to God’s invitation in Genesis, God was angry and placed a curse on the whole of the creation and especially on this very creature whom He had wanted to love and have a relationship with. The result was that every person since then is born with a bias away from seeking God which is clearly described for instance in Romans 3 cf vs 10 “There is no one who righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God.”
God’s rescue mission through Jesus provides a way out of this impossible situation. Through Jesus we can have a softened heart and a relationship with God through His Son. The question is, “does He grab some people by the scruff of the neck and force them to love Him and follow Him?” Clearly not, he makes the offer and each person is invited to respond by faith to receive this gift.
Is this response a free choice? Well, given our bias it cannot be entirely. Yet there is a degree in which we have to exercise our choice to follow Him and receive the New Birth, otherwise we would simply be puppets. So God is operating in His sphere of grace as He draws us into making this decision. cf Ephesians 2: For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift from God”.
To help me understand this I imagine God wooing each person like a lover (Maybe that is why the book called “Song of Solomon” is included in the word). Of course, He is an all-powerful lover and can create circumstances to suite His purposes, but within this there is still, there must be a degree to which we are responding of our own “free” will.
Then once we have been saved this dance with Him as our lover continues. He places before us diverse challenges and tribulations in which He is inviting us to trust Him. We are continually faced with the need to make choices. These choices can lead to various outcomes, but in the end He is so controlling the final outcome so that His will will be achieved.
Ultimately the verse that Lilly quoted (Ephesians 1:4) gives us the assurance that when we look back we can see that He chose us before we were even born and predestined our lives, so we are completely secure in His love. It is nevertheless pertinent that we present the choice to everyone that they should choose Jesus and leave it up to Him to complete the dance. That is what Jesus Himself did repeatedly.
I hope I have not confused you all, but this is a hugely difficult subject to describe and pin down. We need to continually remind ourselves that God is souvreign and far above our understanding.
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