God's Will or Free Will
I enjoy writing about controversial topics in respectful ways. Yesterday I had the pleasure of discussing God's Will and Free Will at the Saturday Table Talk (soon to be podcast). We remove all pressures of environmental conditioning so as to discuss what we truly think. In our discussions we make sure that we totally respect each others point of view and that there are no right or wrongs in this dialogue. When the setting is that safe, trust is established, the walls come down, and a meaningful exchange ensues.
I, like everyone else, has no idea of God's will for our lives. Many so called experts will gladly share their misdirection with you, but in doing so they leave out a majority of God's creation. We all, have at times, made the statement "thank you God for answering my prayers". This may happen after an illness that we or a loved one recovers from, it could be when no one is seriously injured in an accident. We even hear the term "it's God's will" whatever the heck that means. I wrote a blog a couple years back called "The American Jesus". In it I discussed how we as Americans have a God while people in third world countries obviously do not. I make that statement only if we are measuring God's love based on America's blessings.
So what is God's Will? Here in lies nothing more than my humble opinion. I believe that if God has a will, that it would be for all of his children to somehow someway someday be united in love one and all with him. It reminds me of the story of the Prodigal Son where the wayward rebellious child made his way back home after falling hard. The Father did not waste time recollecting the young man's failures, he welcomed him back home with open arms and love. Trust me I know the part of the story where the loyal son was upset, hence our humanity. We all feel like we are victims when in reality we are not. The loyal son still had his Father's love but he struggled to see the importance of gaining his brother back. Life is not easy, when we feel slighted, is it. The sad, yet profound, part of this story is how selfish we become. Think about that before reading on.
When considering God's will in your life, let's simplify this to an elementary level. What is your will in God's life? Hello, that's a twist isn't it? Seriously, give that a minute to soak in. Take a quick inventory of your life. Look at your relationships, your health, you finances, you faith, and your own identity. Do you take full responsibility for exactly where you are right this minute? Or, do you blame others and God for your plight in life. Don't stop now, please, this is crucial to understanding who and what you are. Environmentally we are taught to blame others for everything, I mean, come on, nothing can be our fault, right. Why vilify ourselves when being the victim gets so much more attention. You may not want to agree with that but before you disagree just listen to yourself and others when you are in a group discussion with friends. I bet no one in the group talks about how bad they are, instead it's more about "can you believe so and so did this, or, he calls himself a Christian after what he did, even better, I know what I would do if it were me". Ever been in those conversations? You may be the ring leader.
My heart and soul tells me that God wants me to strive to be the best version of myself possible. No matter what I have to work with, I can still improve, if I so choose too. That means learning to talk to myself in ways that reflect love. It means forgiving myself for the wrongs I have done to others. It means I must stop looking backwards and live my life forward. It means I have to let go of the everything that is holding me back, namely my bad attitude. How we live our lives is a choice so choose wisely. One thing God gave us that we can all be thankful for is the present moment. It is all we have and it affords us a new opportunity to love.
Now back to the table talk and God's Will. If God is love and we are a molecule of God then we must allow our hearts to bloom with and for love. Remember love and hate cannot share the same space, one stays, one goes. When you figure out how to water and nurture love amazing things will begin to happen. BUT, as long as you allow hate to permeate through you, your life you can never fully appreciate God's Will for you or your will for God.
Basically it boils down to this. This side of dirt there will remain many unanswered questions. With that being said, the one certain is this, love heals the deepest wounds we carry. Please let go of everything in your past that has you shackled. No need to play the martyr, we have all made crazy mistakes, we have all sinned. No one and I mean NO ONE has or will escape this life sin free.
Be the expression of love you wish to see in the world. Be the first to extend an open heart. Reach out, not only to others, but to yourself as well. God is love, which means you are too. Give LOVE a chance, you have everything to gain, and absolutely nothing to loose.
God bless
Dale
I, like everyone else, has no idea of God's will for our lives. Many so called experts will gladly share their misdirection with you, but in doing so they leave out a majority of God's creation. We all, have at times, made the statement "thank you God for answering my prayers". This may happen after an illness that we or a loved one recovers from, it could be when no one is seriously injured in an accident. We even hear the term "it's God's will" whatever the heck that means. I wrote a blog a couple years back called "The American Jesus". In it I discussed how we as Americans have a God while people in third world countries obviously do not. I make that statement only if we are measuring God's love based on America's blessings.
So what is God's Will? Here in lies nothing more than my humble opinion. I believe that if God has a will, that it would be for all of his children to somehow someway someday be united in love one and all with him. It reminds me of the story of the Prodigal Son where the wayward rebellious child made his way back home after falling hard. The Father did not waste time recollecting the young man's failures, he welcomed him back home with open arms and love. Trust me I know the part of the story where the loyal son was upset, hence our humanity. We all feel like we are victims when in reality we are not. The loyal son still had his Father's love but he struggled to see the importance of gaining his brother back. Life is not easy, when we feel slighted, is it. The sad, yet profound, part of this story is how selfish we become. Think about that before reading on.
When considering God's will in your life, let's simplify this to an elementary level. What is your will in God's life? Hello, that's a twist isn't it? Seriously, give that a minute to soak in. Take a quick inventory of your life. Look at your relationships, your health, you finances, you faith, and your own identity. Do you take full responsibility for exactly where you are right this minute? Or, do you blame others and God for your plight in life. Don't stop now, please, this is crucial to understanding who and what you are. Environmentally we are taught to blame others for everything, I mean, come on, nothing can be our fault, right. Why vilify ourselves when being the victim gets so much more attention. You may not want to agree with that but before you disagree just listen to yourself and others when you are in a group discussion with friends. I bet no one in the group talks about how bad they are, instead it's more about "can you believe so and so did this, or, he calls himself a Christian after what he did, even better, I know what I would do if it were me". Ever been in those conversations? You may be the ring leader.
My heart and soul tells me that God wants me to strive to be the best version of myself possible. No matter what I have to work with, I can still improve, if I so choose too. That means learning to talk to myself in ways that reflect love. It means forgiving myself for the wrongs I have done to others. It means I must stop looking backwards and live my life forward. It means I have to let go of the everything that is holding me back, namely my bad attitude. How we live our lives is a choice so choose wisely. One thing God gave us that we can all be thankful for is the present moment. It is all we have and it affords us a new opportunity to love.
Now back to the table talk and God's Will. If God is love and we are a molecule of God then we must allow our hearts to bloom with and for love. Remember love and hate cannot share the same space, one stays, one goes. When you figure out how to water and nurture love amazing things will begin to happen. BUT, as long as you allow hate to permeate through you, your life you can never fully appreciate God's Will for you or your will for God.
Basically it boils down to this. This side of dirt there will remain many unanswered questions. With that being said, the one certain is this, love heals the deepest wounds we carry. Please let go of everything in your past that has you shackled. No need to play the martyr, we have all made crazy mistakes, we have all sinned. No one and I mean NO ONE has or will escape this life sin free.
Be the expression of love you wish to see in the world. Be the first to extend an open heart. Reach out, not only to others, but to yourself as well. God is love, which means you are too. Give LOVE a chance, you have everything to gain, and absolutely nothing to loose.
God bless
Dale
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