The Lord God commanded the man, “You are free…”
GENESIS 2:16 NIV
We touched in the
previous chapter, on a very important subject, that of free will. It is worth far more than a passing remark. It is central to every person. It is a gift central to our story.
Into every human is imparted a full measure of free will, a gift given to mankind at the beginning. The giving of free will was in many ways a wild gamble – it is a gift that inexorably binds each person to their destiny. Each human’s ability, or inability, to wield freedom will ultimately determine their worth.
Let me say that again. It is fundamental to overcoming the web of delusions spun by the devil in these last days.
Your success or failure at wielding freedom will ultimately determine your worth. Your capacity to handle the weight of this profound gift will mark your coming of age.
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
2 CHRONICLES 16:9 NLT
In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off big-time, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.
HEBREWS 12:4-11 MSG
God is nothing. That is the lie that is being successfully prosecuted by the world’s ‘educated’. God is nothing but an idea; if he does exist, if he is good, why does he not deal with evil? These clever arguments are the innovation of minds twisted so tight they’ve severed themselves from reality, as will be seen later in this book. Silently watching, God’s eyes roam the earth. Whether we will govern along with Christ in the third age or be fodder for the cleansing flames at the end of the second, what we do with our freedom now is the determining factor.
So once again, make sure you understand this. Each person’s ability, or inability, to wield freedom will ultimately determine their worth.
It is for this reason, the battle for a person’s destiny plays out in their heart and mind.
Excerpt From: Geoffrey Young. “Guardian Universe: The Gospel in Unexpected Terms.”
Chapter 39 RESURRECTION AND THE SPLIT OF MANKIND
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