Some people believe that God/fate/the universe has a place for us and we need to find our place there and recognize the opportunities to go down this path.
To me this violates my free will. Why don't I get to choose my life path? Why don't I get to choose what will make me happy? That is my ultimate goal in this life, to be happy. To say that there is something, some force that is driving me toward a specific set of circumstances sounds like a dog owner training its dog to not do its business in the house. "Don't do that...do this. Don't go there, go here."
Any decision you make, should not be made hastily. Weighing the pros and cons. What good will come of it? Will the good outweigh the bad? What are the future repercussions of said decision?
At this point some of you may be thinking, "Travis, what about God's plan for you?"
It is a true that I am a God-fearing man, and I seek out his will in my life for ultimate happiness therein and the life to come.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" you say, "God's will, what about the control you want for you life?"
It is absolutely there. If you are striving to live as holy of a life as you can, seeking out the things that will make you happy, then you can't make a wrong decision.
As of late, I have been considering several possibilities about what to do with the next several years of my life. I have considered three different Catholic volunteer programs, moving to several different places, big cities and small towns alike. To think that God wants me in one place above another, doesn't make any sense to me. Will God not bless me if I choose Chicago over Monett, or DC over St. Louis? I abhor the thought! That doesn't sound like a fair and just God to me.
God's will is for me to be happy. Look to the scriptures for that. John 10:10 "A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it to the full."
A full life with a pre-determined destination...doesn't sound like the kid of life I want to live
I agree you/we have the freedom to choose what we want. But how does this violate the doctrine of God's sovereign will, especially when it comes to predestination? I'm very curious to know your thoughts then on Romans 9... Ephesians 1... John 6 and 10...
ReplyDeleteas far as John 10:10... yes, Christ did come that we may have life. But what does that mean? You seem to indicate that it means that God wants us to be happy. That is what the prosperity people say, using this very verse. They claim that God wants us to be happy, healthy, and rich. This goes against what Scripture says about Christians who suffer for the name of Christ.
If God just "wants us to be happy", what does that mean for our persecuted brothers and sisters in other countries who die daily just for believing... for recognizing correctly that Jesus is Lord? Are they "happy"? probably not so much. A life that Christ gives is joyful... but not always happy. It is a life that has been forgiven of sin and finds rest in Christ Jesus.
A life ruled by God's sovereign will is EXACTLY the kind of life I would desire, as a Christian. Otherwise, evil has no purpose in the world and everything happens at random. Instead we know that God has overt purpose in all that comes to pass.