Free will and Gods love When God created us, he created us in his own image and likeness.

God who is all mercy, wisdom, compassion, love, kindness, patience, created us in HIS image and thus allowed us to be sharers of his qualities. Free will means an individuals intellect and reasoning ability and also the ability to make decisions for ones life. This is a free gift of God, God has not made anybody duh. Each one of us have been made in the likeness of him and hence are filled with his wisdom. It is a gift because God is signifying he trusts us, our decisions, the course of life we take. He does it because he respects us and honors us too much (Isaiah 43:3-5) not to trust us. Because if he doesnt, he is telling himself that we are not made in his likeness, He cannot deny himself. However, as a loving Father, whose depth of love we cannot even fathom, whereas he allows us our freedom, hed rather that we chose Life, in all its fullness. Living life in its fullness is Gods will for us. If we want to live a richer fuller life and God wants us to live a richer, fuller life, Where is the tussle? In theory, this should not create a tussle, a struggle. However, we know from experience, that it is not the case. May be then it is in the interpretation of a richer fuller life as seen in the eyes of God and as seen as by us. It is the same difference which St Paul talks about when he talks about a life led in and by the Spirit of God, and a life led in and by the Human Nature. Even though it is constant struggle, we can take heart in the fact that even though we fail, God never fails in loving us. That his grace, his unmerited blessings are for us, not because of who we are, but in spite of ourselves, and because who he is, all Love, he cant deny his own nature. He will continue to love us, honor us and respect us. Is accepting Gods will a subjugation of our free will? Should we rebel and resent this power? If Jesus taught us thy will be done then what about our wills? I will take an example from the richness of married life, I take this life situation, because our faith is strewn with examples of marriage feast, of its being eternal, of Church being the bride of Christ. If I love my spouse, I will always consult him/her on matters big and small. I will do this because I want him/her to be part of my life, my intellect, my thoughts. Even if on certain matters, I may have better judgment because of exposure in that area (finance management, organization skills, etc) I will still consult with my spouse. When I consult, I do this not to tell him/her I know better, but in humility knowing that I can be wrong. And with an openness to another perspective which I may have completed missed upon. If the particular decision involves certain perceived risk to the family, I will subjugate my decision to the safety and security of my family. In other words, I subjugated my free will to the Love I have for my Family. In the same manner, even in our limited conditional state of love of God, if we have the humility and openness to consult God, knowing fully well that he is not going to decry our choices, free will becomes secondary to the Love we have for each other and thus fulfill Gods will- of living richer fuller lives. The Kingdom comes and we see him as he really is. This knowledge that God will provide, he knows what is hidden from me now, he knows best, requires a humoungous amount of Surrender and denying self- denying human nature. It requires Faith to know that we will always be taken care of, and that we dont have to keep deciding forever for our lives. Living in this faith, that even before I ask, my Father knows my needs, and he will fulfill the desires of my heart and he has plans for my prosperity and not disaster, is not easy. Letting Go is huge, we stake everything with no visible and immediate sign of gain. This is contrary to all that our human nature has taught us. let me give you another situation, When Adam lost his Paradise, or living in the presence of God, he was told You shall live by the sweat of your brow. This is diametrically opposite to the teaching of Jesus when he talks about seeking the Kingdom of God and not be bothered with daily toils and struggles through his comparison to the lilies of the field. Does this mean that living our lives in the presence of God is so much a better alternative than living away from it? From my own life, I can tell you that whereas it is significantly richer to live in the presence of God, it 1

also so much a struggle, because we have to deny our Human Nature. It needs faith in the loving providence of God. It asks us to let Go and Let God. We have to change from within and have the humility to say Not my will, but yours be done.