Probably anyone reading this will have, at one time or another, had their heart broken romantically. And if you have you know that for a time this is unbearably painful. You love that person and they love you and everything is wonderful. Then suddenly they don't love you anymore. They move on and you're left holding the bag, and if they're moving on to someone else your pain is many times multiplied. Ouch!
It could be that during your grieving you may have thought to yourself: "I wish I could make them love me again." You wish you could make them love you. I bet that's a more common wish that we'd realize. The idea of love potions or spells is even a common theme in secular literature.
So do a little mental exercise with me for a bit and try to imagine that you could, by some artificial means, make someone love you. Do you think you'd be satisfied for very long with that "love"? I say no. And here's why: you'd quickly discover that this love you received from your hearts desire wasn't love at all, but something more akin to an act in a play with you as director or playwright and your beloved reduced to a mere actor. Or an automaton you could program to act and respond as you wished. And that's far from love, because, among other things, love is something freely given. Something you confer upon another not through coercion or force, but of your freewill. That's the minimum condition for the existence of love. It's something other than love if not freely given.
Now, let's shift the focus of this exercise from our human relationships to our relationship with God. He brought the material universe into existence and created Earth with just he right conditions to sustain human life for one purpose: to enjoy loving communion with us.Want to know the meaning of life? What it's all about? We're here to love God. Deuteronomy 6:5 tells us: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
But in order that that love have meaning, for it to be true love on our part, God had to take an enormous risk by granting us freewill. Yes, he could have programed us to act as he wished, but that would have made us little more than robots or puppets utterly unable to render to God what he truly wants from us: love.
So, we were offered the option of accepting or rejecting his love. God asked Adam and Eve to love him and to manifest that love as obedience in not eating of the tree of knowledge. But disobedience was just what happened in the garden. Overwhelmed by temptation we opted to reject his love and attempted to set ourselves up as our own gods. We fell from grace by our own freewill.
Then, even though we deserved it, He refused to give up on us and made a way for our reconciliation. Still, He will never force Himself on us. Setting the table and inviting us in is as far as He's willing to go. It's entirely up to us to accept the invitation.
Meanwhile, The Deceiver constantly assails us offering up cheap, Earthly baubles in exchange for our salvation. And like any good confidence man he doesn't take us by force. He takes us by finesse. Isn't it the World's ultimate irony that all those who scoff so bitterly at Christians for being unthinking, weak minded, fools are, in actual fact, Satan's chumps. Falling for the con they've seated themselves at his table anticipating what appears to be a sumptuous feast, and that feast will only be revealed to be rotting, putrid filth in the end.
Lord, I pray that you help me redouble my caution in how I spend my freewill.
It could be that during your grieving you may have thought to yourself: "I wish I could make them love me again." You wish you could make them love you. I bet that's a more common wish that we'd realize. The idea of love potions or spells is even a common theme in secular literature.
So do a little mental exercise with me for a bit and try to imagine that you could, by some artificial means, make someone love you. Do you think you'd be satisfied for very long with that "love"? I say no. And here's why: you'd quickly discover that this love you received from your hearts desire wasn't love at all, but something more akin to an act in a play with you as director or playwright and your beloved reduced to a mere actor. Or an automaton you could program to act and respond as you wished. And that's far from love, because, among other things, love is something freely given. Something you confer upon another not through coercion or force, but of your freewill. That's the minimum condition for the existence of love. It's something other than love if not freely given.
Now, let's shift the focus of this exercise from our human relationships to our relationship with God. He brought the material universe into existence and created Earth with just he right conditions to sustain human life for one purpose: to enjoy loving communion with us.Want to know the meaning of life? What it's all about? We're here to love God. Deuteronomy 6:5 tells us: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
But in order that that love have meaning, for it to be true love on our part, God had to take an enormous risk by granting us freewill. Yes, he could have programed us to act as he wished, but that would have made us little more than robots or puppets utterly unable to render to God what he truly wants from us: love.
So, we were offered the option of accepting or rejecting his love. God asked Adam and Eve to love him and to manifest that love as obedience in not eating of the tree of knowledge. But disobedience was just what happened in the garden. Overwhelmed by temptation we opted to reject his love and attempted to set ourselves up as our own gods. We fell from grace by our own freewill.
Then, even though we deserved it, He refused to give up on us and made a way for our reconciliation. Still, He will never force Himself on us. Setting the table and inviting us in is as far as He's willing to go. It's entirely up to us to accept the invitation.
Meanwhile, The Deceiver constantly assails us offering up cheap, Earthly baubles in exchange for our salvation. And like any good confidence man he doesn't take us by force. He takes us by finesse. Isn't it the World's ultimate irony that all those who scoff so bitterly at Christians for being unthinking, weak minded, fools are, in actual fact, Satan's chumps. Falling for the con they've seated themselves at his table anticipating what appears to be a sumptuous feast, and that feast will only be revealed to be rotting, putrid filth in the end.
Lord, I pray that you help me redouble my caution in how I spend my freewill.
Hey Chip! It's been a while but I'm finally catching up on your blog.
ReplyDeleteYour final paragraph above brings to mind a basic problem I have with all religions...that only one can be right. Jesus said that the only path to God and salvation is through him. Where does that leave the millions of Hindus, Muslims, Jews, etc. who lead "good" lives neither harming nor disrepecting anyone? Not to mention folks like me who although I've not accepted any religious faith do not "scoff ...at Christians for being unthinking, weak minded fools." Are we all "Satan's chumps?"
PS please remember the reservations I expressed last year regarding commenting on your blog... very respectfully, Bruce
Bruce, I've been focused on my Dad's illness lately, and didn't see your comments 'till days later. And your reservations are duly noted! Your comments are welcome since I know you're without malice. Love you, Bro!
ReplyDeleteThis is a classic "good news/bad news" scenario. The good news is that Christ offers this salvation to all - Muslim, Hindu, Jew, and atheist alike. The bad news is that the majority will refuse the offer. Jesus did indeed say “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." And,"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." So, the simple answer is that no matter how good a person is by human standards, he will still fall short of God's standards. It's only through Christ that salvation is found, and those that reject the offer will be eternally separated from God.
It's a very modern notion that there are many roads to heaven. But Christ's words can't be adjusted to accommodate a changing world. As a Christian this is pretty troubling for me since I don't want think of anyone suffering - especially those I love. But as a believer in Christ, I have no choice but to accept this as reality.