"But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not."
Acts 28:22-24
I really love the whole free agency thing. God gives us all the ability to choose... to be interested in the gospel or not, to believe or not. We often assume that everyone who hears the truth will believe it, and if they don't right away, we think there is something wrong. However, God works with everyone in their own time, and still asks us to love our neighbors... whether or not they believe the same things that we do... in fact, specifically if they don't, right?, because that can be one interpretation of an enemy, and we are to love our enemies, and bless them that curse us.
Sometimes we *want* God to force us, as in John Donne's Sonnet 14: "Batter my heart" he asks, and "break, blow, burn, and make me new." And God *can* make us into new creatures, but the choice must be our own. It can't be through the imprisonment or violence that Donne asks, but rather the consent and surrender is a choice that that we must make to put God's will before our own. ... Which can sound like some horrible loss on some level, but in actuality, God loves us way more than we have learned to love him, and he protects our "self" from any harm, helping us to stand up and become even more... turning us into our best selves. It's more the welcome change and adjustment of choosing a relationship rather than the unwanted change of slavery... and God is scrupulously careful to make sure it is so, and that we always do the choosing when it comes to making a change to who we are.
Today, let's listen and learn and decide for ourselves what we want to do with God's advice and his gospel. He will never force us to heaven, or cram a glorious eternity down our throats... but he offers it freely, if we will only turn to him, and count ourselves among the believers.
And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not."
Acts 28:22-24
I really love the whole free agency thing. God gives us all the ability to choose... to be interested in the gospel or not, to believe or not. We often assume that everyone who hears the truth will believe it, and if they don't right away, we think there is something wrong. However, God works with everyone in their own time, and still asks us to love our neighbors... whether or not they believe the same things that we do... in fact, specifically if they don't, right?, because that can be one interpretation of an enemy, and we are to love our enemies, and bless them that curse us.
Sometimes we *want* God to force us, as in John Donne's Sonnet 14: "Batter my heart" he asks, and "break, blow, burn, and make me new." And God *can* make us into new creatures, but the choice must be our own. It can't be through the imprisonment or violence that Donne asks, but rather the consent and surrender is a choice that that we must make to put God's will before our own. ... Which can sound like some horrible loss on some level, but in actuality, God loves us way more than we have learned to love him, and he protects our "self" from any harm, helping us to stand up and become even more... turning us into our best selves. It's more the welcome change and adjustment of choosing a relationship rather than the unwanted change of slavery... and God is scrupulously careful to make sure it is so, and that we always do the choosing when it comes to making a change to who we are.
Today, let's listen and learn and decide for ourselves what we want to do with God's advice and his gospel. He will never force us to heaven, or cram a glorious eternity down our throats... but he offers it freely, if we will only turn to him, and count ourselves among the believers.
No comments:
Post a Comment