Christians, like all human beings, have free will. Our lives are the cumulative result of our decisions, some good and some poor -- some wise, some unwise -- some where we have invited Jesus to be part of our decisions -- others where we have, sadly, asked him to stay out! Additionally, our lives are shaped by decisions that other people make, as well as time, chance and factors that are out of our control, such as the ups and downs of the economy, weather, etc. We can ask God to intervene, and often he does. Of course we thank God for our blessings and our friendships.We give him the credit and glory whenever good things happen to us, since he is the one who has given us our free will, resources and abilities. But we do not know specifically how he orchestrates events or how or whether he brings people into our lives.
Walking quickly but aprehensively down one path are those Christians who believe that everything depends on what they do. They may think they are being obedient to God, yet it may well be what they call obedience is actually a compulsion to control and micromanage their own lives, a compulsion with often extends itself into the lives of others. They believe God's acceptance of them is based on their performance, and as a result they agonize over every decision, worry about whether they have made the right decisions, and live in either false confidence or guilt and fear because of what they have or have not done. You don't have to be a theologian to see that this is not at all compatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ -- which brings freedom from fear and anxiety.Wandering blissfully down another path are those who think that all events in the word are continually being orchestrated by God -- for their ultimate personal benefit! So, when they reach a fork in the trail -- when it's time to make a difficult decision -- such people find themselves paralyzed, waiting for God to make the decision for them. In actuality, God is telling them -- "Look, I've given you a mind -- and I'm living in you through the Holy Spirit, and I've given you myriad other resources. Now be brave -- get busy and decide!" But, as the lyrics of the old Rush song "Freewill" go, "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice" -- a choice to abandon your God-given responsibility and to let circumstances make your decisions for you. This isn't the gospel either.
There's a third path -- the path of mature Christians. They know there may be obstacles ahead, but they still stride down their path with confidence. They do the best they can with what they have -- but they also realize there are things they cannot do. First of all, they know they can't save themselves spiritually through any of their own efforts -- they let God take care of that entirely. They also know that, even though they may diligently work, think and make choices (which they should) in planning and charting a course in matters of career, family, finance, health, education, relationships, etc., -- there will still be times when they come to the end of their rope and find themselves out of options -- when they must rely solely on God to offer solutions.
