Free Will

This morning I was reading along in Redeemed, Day 6, trying hard not to fall behind.  My plans yesterday to read Day 6 were put on the back burner when we were invited to Karen and Clay's to sit around the fire ring and catch up on what has been happening in our lives.  So I spent some time this morning focusing on scripture and reading.  Just a day behind, but I hope I can work in a two-a-day sometime and be on schedule once again!

The title of today's lesson was "Losing Paradise" which of course focuses on Genesis and the story of the eviction from the Garden of Eden.  There is always the question of why.  Why did Eve listen to the snake?  Why was she tempted?  Why did she need to forsake a perfect world full of beauty and lush grasses and flowers and delicious food to take a bite of an apple and doom all of us to lives of sin?  It is even harder for me to imagine that because I really don't like apples that much!  I would NOT be tempted to eat one, even freshly picked off a beautiful tree.

As Angie took us through this lesson, though, something else stood out to me, apart from the story in Genesis.  We all have choices to make, each and every day.  Some have major impacts on our lives, such as marriage, or changing jobs, or moving from one state to another.  Others have small consequences, such as fixing dinner at home or ordering a pizza for delivery.  These choices are more in line with the message in "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost than a Bible lesson, however. 

What about those heavy choices that result from a struggle between good and evil?  Those have more difficult and sometimes devastating lasting effects than just choosing to order pizza from Pizza King rather than cook chicken and noodles for dinner.  A choice is made to walk into a bank with a gun, wearing a dark mask, and ask for money.  A choice is made by a married man to continue a flirtation with the office secretary by taking her to dinner, then ending up at a movie theatre, then finally at a hotel. 

Angie writes on page 37 that "All sin is ultimately irrational" and after I thought about it, I do believe that.  The bank robber may think that robbing a bank is the only way to get the money needed to buy a new vehicle, which is totally irrational because after he is tried and sentenced to prison for bank robbery, a new vehicle is a moot point.  Irrational thinking. 

She also reminds us that there is a very real enemy that is ready to see us fail.  It may not begin with a huge choice, but more like a compromise.  It may be a hedge on the truth.  It might lead to lies and cover-ups.  Then deceit. Then the sin is full-force out there.

That made me think more then about free will.  How can we be Christians if we are sinning all over the place?  And we do.  In small ways.  In large ways.  Listening to the media and various non-religious groups further puts that question in the forefront of our minds - are Christians just sinners who attend church and read the Bible and act like they are good people but they really are not because they fall from grace so often?

On page 36 I read this in the sidebar:  "Along with the gift of Jesus as our Savior, free will is a gift central to Christianity.  Free will makes Christianity a relationship, instead of just another religion with a list of do's and don'ts.  No one is coerced to follow Christ. You freely accept the invitation to be a Christian.  You freely choose to obey Christ's teachings or not.  This wonderful gift should never be taken for granted."

The way I see it, I have chosen to accept the gift of Jesus as my Savior.  I do have free will to give it back, to follow the teachings of Christ, to read the Bible and pray---or not.  I can make choices that sometimes are not the best because of my own free will, but I can repent of my sins and ask for forgiveness and learn from those mistakes.  The key is learning from my mistakes so that I don't make the same ones again, that I don't compromise my beliefs, that I don't hedge on the truth which might lead to lies and cover-ups.  My free will should lead me closer to Christ through the process of studying the Bible, improving my prayer life, and learning more about living a Christian life.

It's a choice.  Sometimes it is a hard choice.  But it is still a choice.