Our Response - To God's Plan For Our Lifeনমুনা

My Choice 

“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.”

Sometimes, we are like a child who wants to help in the kitchen. We are not happy with the play utensils—we want to cut vegetables with the sharp knife our mum uses. One day when mum is not looking, we try to cut vegetables with mum’s knife, believing nothing can go wrong. Suddenly we feel pain of accidentally cutting ourself. In fear, we call out to our mum who lovingly takes care of our wound but is also upset that we disobeyed her.

Translate the above illustration to our relationship with God. God never forces himself on us. We need to choose to accept Christ and willingly have a relationship with Him. Without this relationship, we only use God’s plan for us as an excuse for usually the bad things in our life, and the good things are “our effort or our right”.

When we choose to follow Christ, God guides us and leads us. The sovereign God who created this universe and who knows the end from the beginning reveals parts of our life relevant to us, advising us as we go on in life. Sometimes like the kid, we do not give much thought to God’s direction. God knows our choices and in love takes care of us even when we go against His instructions.  Repeated failure to choose God’s advise does not go in line with the choice we made to follow Christ.  

God’s love will never reject us if we choose to own up our mistakes. He works it out with us as we accept His salvation, followed by repentance, reconciliation and the process of sanctification. God's grace and mercy sustain us. God works on us and helps us to get comfortable doing the things He wants us to do. At any point when we choose to do what we want, the same love of God willingly allows us to go our way with much pain in His heart. Love without freedom is manipulation. 

Our God does not manipulate us but loves us.

His sovereign plan includes our choices