DAILY BYTE
So if God is not behind absolutely every human moment, including those of suffering, does this mean he lacks power? Not at all! God is all-powerful; it is just that love – the very nature of love – causes us to give up power. Love brings with it vulnerability.
I am not the biggest guy around, but I am certainly far bigger than my daughter of 2 years and my son of 4 months. In fact, I am willing to bet that my son will have to wait until he is at least 5 or 6 years old before he can beat me in an arm wrestle. Yet, my love for them means that there is nothing I would hate more than to use my power over them.
My love for them means I would do anything to see them reach their full potential. My love for them means I would never force a relationship with me on them no matter how much their rejection hurt. My love for them means my heart now resides outside of my body with them. This is why, little as they may be and far weaker than me, they could still hurt me like no other because I love them so much.
We see this truth in God becoming so vulnerable because of his love for us that he took on human flesh and frailties, so vulnerable that he shared in our suffering and wept our tears, so vulnerable that nails were driven through his flesh. Let’s be clear that there is no power in earth, heaven or hell big enough to force God to the cross. Instead, God chose to love us so much that he even gave up his life for us.
This incredible truth is exactly why we can trust the will of God so absolutely. But here’s the thing – because of our free will - we can actually block the will of God. Again, this does not mean that God is not powerful, just that God will never remove our freedom to choose because that would mean he has to stop loving, and that God won’t do.
Our wills are given to us to exercise freely. Like Adam and Eve, we can assert them noisily and brashly, foolishly choosing what is beneath us and thereby diminishing ourselves. After all, who hasn’t been there or done that?
Or we could fall asleep at the wheel like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane (see today’s focus reading). Where we stop caring, and lose all passion and purpose. I don’t know about you but this lack of will for good is very common to me – I can be like a lazy, old dog sleeping by the fireside, forgetting that what is at stake is huge – it is heaven meeting earth through the choices I make.
Or we can choose, like Christ, to say not my will but yours be done O’ God.
For we can’t truly pray ‘Father,’ unless we are striving to live as his children.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Holy God, may you help me to recognise how important my free will is, and may you help me to make constant, daily choices that reflect your will being done above my own. Amen.
FOCUS READING
Matthew 26. 36-41 MSG
Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, "Stay here while I go over there and pray." Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, "This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me."
Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, "My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?"
When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, "Can't you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don't wander into temptation without even knowing you're in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire."
