Thought of the Day !! (Free Will - A gift and a curse)

So since God's grace has set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don't you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval.
Romans 6:15-16 (NLT)

I love to watch the Television show "Monk". It's about a detective (played by Tony Shaloub) with deductive reasoning greater than even Sherlock Holmes. What makes him so great is the fact that he notices every little detail. And he claims that "it's a gift and a curse."

Each of us was born with free will, which in a way is the same as Monk's gift and curse. It truly is a gift from God. It shows God's love for us in that God doesn't control our every action. We are not simply puppets on a string being controlled by another being. Because of this free will, we can make decisions on our own and experience wonderful things. Also because of this free will, we can make mistakes that can harm us...maybe even indefinitely. This is the curse.

Given the choice, Christians believe that everyone should choose Christ. But others that don't know Christ don't always see it that way. And so they are cursed with the free will that brings about the wrong choices and ultimately eternal death.

But what about those who choose life? What about those who choose to accept God's grace? Since we are now free from sin, does that mean we can do anything we want? No, of course not. You see, we are free from the consequences of our past sins. At the same time, we have freely given ourselves over to Christ as Lord, which means that He governs our lives. So we are not free to commit any act of sin because we chose to freely give up that right so that we may live a righteous life that will never end.

May we all freely turn our day over to Jesus. For we will be ruled by one master or the other. We will be ruled by Christ Jesus or we will be ruled by sin. The choice is a gift and a curse. Which will it be for you?

In the love of Christ,
greg