“Do You Get A Choice?“, by Rev. Mike Holly
In the Scripture reading for today, Paul is writing about our relationship with God. Just before our reading, he says that God has had a way of establishing a relationship with humanity from the very beginning. He knew all of us before we were born and provided a way for each to have a pathway towards being with Him and in relationship with Him (which he refers to as being “glorified”). People of faith have different opinions on how this process unfolds. Is it all God’s decision? Or do we have a choice in the matter? It says that God calls us, seemingly saying that he calls us to make that decision to be with Him and follow Him. However, it also says that he destined us as well. Does being destined mean that we have no say in the matter?
Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to pick apart one Scripture text and figure out exactly what is God’s way of working in our lives. Continuing in Romans 8, we find that God’s love is steadfast. Nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God. Paul lists a great number of events or powers that in other areas of life have the capacity to end and separate. But Paul is emphatic that there is nothing that can remove us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. What is comforting in all of this is that even if we cannot get our own act together, there is a loving God waiting for us and encouraging us each and every step of the way.
Today we will focus on the question of human free will. Do we get a choice to be in relationship with this loving God or has God already made that decision for us?
~Mike Holly
The Word
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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