Freewill

Since the beginning of time, God has granted humanity one of the most profound gifts of all  - the gift of freewill.

Freewill is defined as "the power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies". Freewill, or free choice as has been used interchangeably, is indeed a power that has been bestowed upon us since the world came into existence. In fact, it's conceivable to believe that freewill is the greatest sort of power anyone could ever have. However, because freewill has evolved through time and has since seeped into every part of our  daily lives, the magnitude of its power has gradually been diluted. We humans sometimes disregard, belittle and take for granted the power that freewill has in our lives. 

Freewill gives us the power to create, to love, to forgive, to be compassionate, to sacrifice, to trust, to believe... It gives us the opportunity to make the right choices. At the other extreme, freewill also gives us the power to destroy, to hate, to revenge, to resent, to be selfish, to lie, to be sceptical.. As much as it gives us the door to make all the right choices, it also gives us the door to make all the wrong choices. This is why it has so great a power.

We make all kinds of choices every single day, from the simplest to the most complex, from the seemingly insignificant to the life-changing ones. As I mulled over this gift of freewill, I realized that although I make all sorts of decisions every day, I was awakened to the fact that a huge chunk of the choices that I make has to do with God and I.

The free choice to either glorify Him or to glorify myself/world.

I'm a phlegmatic melancholic and so by nature, I loathe making decisions. I'm the aiya-anything-also-can type, which is bad. The reminder that freewill is a gift from God and how it places me in a position to choose either to glorify Him or to glorify myself totally re-aligned my perspective about making choices. I acknowledge that it's never easy when there is a struggle between what the flesh wants and what the spirit wants. The struggle can be very intense sometimes. And for most part, I've gone along with what my flesh wants as so with many  of us. But the thing about freewill is that it has it's repercussions.  

John 15 talks about Jesus being the Vine and us as the branches.

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. 
No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. 
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me".
John 15: 4

"If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, 
just as  have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love."
John 15: 10

Through the Word, it's clear that when we choose to glorify ourselves instead of Christ, we go nowhere. Our growth in the Spirit gets stunted. If we're honest with ourselves, a lot of times we know the commandments, we know what He is asking us to do and we can feel Him nudging us but  still, we choose to disobey the commandments, we choose to procrastinate what He is asking us to do and we choose to ignore the nudges that He sends... We simply choose to walk down our own selfish path.
 

I leave you with this thought.

Just as we were given the gift of freewill and choice, God too had a choice. And He made a choice to love us first. In fact, He made a choice to call us His friends even though He knew from the beginning we wouldn't be the best of friend.

 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.

John 15: 16   

He chose you and I. 

Now, it's your choice.

What would you choose?