When God created Man - one of the best gifts - to humankind - the gift of free will. As much as God wants us to follow - worship Him - He will not force us to do anything we don't want to do - including things that He knows would be best for us. He wishes to have people who chose to follow Him - not puppets - who blindly jump when He pulls their strings. For humans that can be a challenge - doing what one knows is right - struggle between choosing attractive options - maybe not best for them - not as God would have them chose. As a human - Jesus had the same challenges with which to cope. With His experiences learned from living with people - knowing what others might often choose - Jesus had to balance His life experiences - knowing all along what the plan was that His Father had - do His will or make another decision. In the end - when push came to shove Jesus knew He had only one choice - Not my will.....(Lk 22:42).
As His modern day disciples - struggling to make the correct decisions - sometimes a challenge. Most of us have to admit - some past decisions have been questionable - if we could go back - we would not make the same decision a second time. On our Lenten journey we choose how - when - we spend time with our Lenten exercises. How many things - how long we are actively engaged - our decision. Bottom line - God will not force us to do anything we do not want to do - He will nudge - give us hints - still our decision in the end. With very difficult decisions - in the end best to stop fighting with God - instead - do as He has asked us - place our trust in Him - finally say - Not my will...
Deacon Dale
