Obedience
"God gave me a free will, but then He expects meto set aside my free will and obey Him?"
That sounds crazy, eh?
But there are times when that is the exact equation of life -
to ignore our own judgements and desires to do something else -
that someone else says is a better way.
Obedience v. Free Will It sounds like a court case, right?
The call for obedience often begins young - with picking up toys or sharing toys with a sibling.
Someone bigger telling us to do something that goes against our plans.
Why have a free will if we have to obey others and God?
Why didn't God just make us as robots that automatically obey?
Beloved, just like real BBQ needs heat, real love needs real free will.
Part of feeling loved is knowing that someone prefers me over someone else.
Free will is what makes that possible.
Free will makes love possible.
But...
Free will also makes it possible to be selfish and even hateful.
Where there is free will - our eyes are opened to OPTIONS.
I can do THIS - or I can do THAT.
And the option I'm naturally most likely to choose is what does the best for me.
sometimes even if it hurts - or doesn't help - others.
This is when God steps in and calls us to do things that are also good for others,
others that genuinely need some help.
So then, we have to choose between just ourselves or doing what is right and helpful
for as many people as possible.
* Recovering addicts need to say 'No' to their impulses to keep themselves and others safe.
* Would-be killers need to say 'No' to violence.
* Would-be suiciders need to say 'Yes' to waking up tomorrow.
This is obedience, which interrupts our free will.
Obedience is what God-the-Father called Jesus to do - when he was crucified for our sins,
God decided that Christ on the cross would be acceptable payment for or sins,
if we turn to Him for forgiveness - after using our free will to hurt others
But Jesus had to agree to this payment - which meant Jesus had to hang on the cross.
Dying a painful death is not a natural thing. It is an act of obedience to meet a greater need.
Matthew 26 talked about Jesus' struggle with the difficulty of dying for others.
This is an account of how Jesus prayed just before His crucifixion:
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them,
“Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them,
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed,
“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus obeyed.
Sometimes, our free will needs to be ignored to make things better.
Mostly in little ways, but sometimes in big ways.
