WEEKLY FEATURE
THE GIFT OF FREE WILL
Like the mighty eagle who leaps fearlessly from the safety of his lofty nest, I too love to spread my wings and test my boundaries. But, when I face a lot of turbulence, I can not help but wonder why a loving and all-knowing God would choose to give humans free will when it is wrapped in responsibility, knowing we are always wrestling with sin? Such is the paradox of free will. The belief is that omniscience and free will are incompatible because any conception of God that incorporates both properties must inherently be contradictory. I do not agree with this opinion because it is based on our limited view from the ground up. We cannot see the whole flight plan. Whereas, God sees all things from His Lofty Throne. For the Lord says, “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool” in Isaiah 66:1. Eventually, I grasped the concept that control is meant to make others what you want them to be, but boundaries make it safe to be ourselves. Free will is God’s gift of love, for "...love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7. Our Father has fought to free his children from captivity since the beginning of time. Love was the reason He shares His creation with us, the reason He sacrificed His Son to save us, and He waits with arms open wide for us to return to Him. An invitation that only free will can answer! “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements.” -By C.S. Lewis. Yes, love is to be vulnerable. God is love. There is a time when we are ready to leave the nest and fly on our own accord. “…bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”-Genesis 2:23. Leap fearlessly, for you are never alone. “God gave me wings to fly His love is the reason I soar!”
-by Lois Macdonald