Tag Archives: Freewill

Care of All People

Living in the Spirit

July 14, 2020

Scripture Reading: Wisdom of Solomon
12:13, 16-19
For neither is there any god besides you, whose care is for all people,
to whom you should prove that you have not judged unjustly;
For your strength is the source of righteousness,
and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare all.
For you show your strength when people doubt the completeness of your power,
and you rebuke any insolence among those who know it.
Although you are sovereign in strength, you judge with mildness,
and with great forbearance you govern us;
for you have power to act whenever you choose.
Through such works you have taught your people
that the righteous must be kind,
and you have filled your children with good hope,
because you give repentance for sins.

Why is it so hard for humans to accept that God cares for all people? What is it in human nature that drives us to compare ourselves to others to judge our self-worth? We are made in the image of God, not the other way around.

How does God show God’s strength? For you show your strength when people doubt the completeness of your power. The ancients believed that the gods punished people by sending plagues and bad weather to rebuke any insolence. I have never made such a linear pattern of causation. I do believe that God created a world that is based on God’s values of interdependence and love for one another. We do face the consequences of our behavior. Not dealing with climate change is probably the most threatening reality facing our world. Our attitude toward that is the same response we are demonstrating when we think wearing a mask to protect others from COVID-19 is an infringement on our rights.

Freedoms provided for in the Constitution of the United States pale in comparison to the free will God granted us when the world was created.  God gave us dominion over the earth. Dominion includes responsibility. We pay a heavy price when we choose to flaunt that privilege to the detriment of what is right and just in keeping our world operating as it was created to be. We are called to follow in God’s example of caring for all people, even if it requires us to wear a mask, wash our hands, and practice physical distancing. Caring for all people means we do not judge others by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character* as we work to become anti-racists. Caring for all people means we address systemic problems related to our climate so that our earth will continue to sustain us for many years to come.

Prayer: Lord, today, renew our commitment to using our freedom wisely in the care of all people. Amen.

*Martin Luther King Jr.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Freewill thus Choice not Fate

Kingdom Building

September 22, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 16:1-13

‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.’ –Luke 16:10-13

Whom do we serve? How many masters are competing for our time and talent? How do we discern what is of God and what is not? There are hard questions to answer primarily because we are torn between competing desires. A popular song when I was a child was Que será, será* –Whatever will be will be. It has a catchy tune and is fun to sing. My mother was not impressed by its message. She not only did not like its emphasis on being pretty and rich; she also did not like its value that what happens in life is totally left up to fate.

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty
Will I be rich
Here’s what she said to me

Que será, será
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que será, será
What will be, will be

On September 20, 2019, I saw on news programs children and youth from around the world take to the streets demanding that we adults, and our leaders quickly address the rising problems of climate change. They are seeing the future and seeing the need to address sure and certain climate related problems that will impact it markedly.

Serving God demands that we live wisely and do not let the whims of the world distract us from our primary purpose of creating a more Godlike world—a world that recognizes what we do impacts others for better or for worse.

Prayer: Lord, walk with us through the shadows of temptations to stray away from being faithful to your call to let love, not fate determine our future. Amen.

*Verse one and chorus of Que será, será by Jay Livingston / Ray Evans see at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Que_Sera,_Sera_(Whatever_Will_Be,_Will_Be)

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Freewill

Kingdom Building

August 27, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2:4-13

Therefore once more I accuse you,
says the Lord,
   and I accuse your children’s children.
Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
   send to Kedar and examine with care;
   see if there has ever been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
   even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
   for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
   be shocked, be utterly desolate,
says the Lord,
   they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
   and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns
   that can hold no water. –Jeremiah 2:9-13

What is it about human nature that makes us chase after lesser gods, idols the prophets of old would call them? Why if we had the choice of a fountain of living water would we dig a cracked cistern that can hold no water? And yet we do something similar all the time.

I suppose we could relate it to the trial and error learning that small children experience as they begin to crawl and then walk. Those children learn quickly what works and what does not. We adults are the ones who keep repeatedly doing the same wrong thing and getting the same wrong results.

God created us with free will; we honor God by using it advantageously to further God’s way of being on the earth, which is designed for the wellbeing of all.

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of your love allowing us the right to choose how we use this gift. Forgive us when we miss the mark and lead us back to your just path.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Grace as Glue

Lent
March 2, 2017

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:12-19

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. –Romans 5:12-14

How do we change something bad that seems to be unchangeable? Humans seem to be unable or unwilling to stay in constant sync with God. Is the gift of freewill so heady for us or perhaps scary to us that we are drawn to test whether the gift is real or not by acting in ways that are not good for us or for anyone else? What could be accomplished if we were able, through faith, to maintain a constant connection? God seemed to desire such a partnership or God would not have created us. God incarnate, Jesus Christ, came to fill any gaps in our ability to stay in sync with God enabling us to participate fully in developing the world God envisions.

A friend suffering from a re-occurrence of a particularly troublesome form of bone cancer is now undergoing another round of treatment. Before that could happen the hallow places in his bones caused by the cancer were filed with what might be defined in laymen’s terms as glue.  It seems to provide the stability necessary to allow treatment to go forward. I could not help but think when I heard about this preliminary step that it sounded a lot like grace.

So, what is our response to such a gift as this? First, we thank God for graciously filling any gaps in our souls that are impeding our full potential in God’s service. Second, we must humbly accept God’s grace as Ephesians 6:13 puts it: Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Finally, we must live God’s love in all aspects of our lives without fear and with the sure and certain nature of the sufficiency of God’s grace.

Prayer: God of Might and Miracles, forgive us when the problems of the world overwhelm us and we break away from your love and your grace. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.