I am not a theologian; therefore, my perception of God is not usually defined or intellectual. But, I am often curious about spiritual matters and I constantly attempt to gain wisdom. I want a strong, foundational understanding of God's nature. There is a conflict I am having with a lingering, theological question. I will come to the question in a moment. First, I need to explain that this question is difficult and personal. The ramification of the answer could deeply impact my life. Either answer will impact my life. But, one answer has the power to negatively influence my spiritual walk. My ultimate destiny and calling could be delayed on account of someone else’s actions. The question revolves around the popular topic of free will. Here is the question:
What happens if someone who is involved in your life is not following after God’s heart? What if they use their free will to turn from God? Be it ever so little or insignificant. What if they are in rebellion, laziness, or apathy? Complicating the matter, what if they are influencing and involved in your life? Can that disrupt your walk with God? I am not talking about being unequally yoked. If you yoke yourself to a sinner you will be vulnerable to do the same. This is not what I am addressing. I am talking about stagnant Christians or fearful Christians that cause you to miss your destiny. I will give you an example. God calls a man to go to college. He starts to feel uneasy. As the time approaches he misses the necessary steps of faith needed to follow God’s will. He decides at the last minute not to attend college. The fact remains that God wanted him to attend college. This means that this man doesn’t meet the people that he was suppose to connect with. Who knows how he would have affected the walk of the people on campus. This man was disobedient, but not the only person involved in the decision. Now professors and students are in a will unlike God’s perfect will. Even if others involved were whole heartily sold out to God’s call they are now missing a vital piece. How do I reconcile this? I ask because there is a situation where a friend of mine is avoiding a call on their lives. This avoidance has the ability to delay or even destroy my vision and dream. How can we celebrate free will when it is so dangerous? Any thoughts?
1 comment:
ok I think you already know which side of this contentious line I land very firmly on! However there is something to be said here. Biblically yes others decisions CAN have a deep affect on our lives and walks with Christ, but not one unforseen by God or one unplanned by Him. I will not take the time in a comment like this to give you all the reasons I HATE the heresy of the Openess view of God that says He does not know the future. It is NOT Biblical AT ALL! Questions like yours are the biggest reason I hate this false doctrine. What ever happened to " ALL things work together or good" it doesn't say SOME things! What happened to "the steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord"? And "nothing can seperate us from the love of Christ"? The lover of your soul has a destiny for you and HE is working to bring it about! You can refuse it but you cannot avoid it when there is a YES on your heart!
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