Friday, September 16, 2016

Will-ingly

You have the opportunity to be crucified with Christ but no one can force you into this.    It requires an act of the will and the will is never taken from you by force.  Just as the spirit is unsinkable and eternal so is the will.  The will can be broken and it can be corrupted but it will never be stripped from you.  Satan can touch your will but only as it continues to be yours.  You can surrender your will but that is solely your determination.  One can be born again yet fiercely cling to the will and not let go of it.  The Holy Scripture is God's plumb line for evaluating the identity of the possessor of the will.  If I keep my will, then the Bible will be a stern taskmaster that confronts me at every turn.  I will fight over who I should forgive, how often I will let my cheek be struck by good and bad people stew over what I give away and the degree to which I will pray about everything with the consequence of fretting about nothing.  If I am crucified with Christ, then my will is in His possession and His to defend and honor.   It makes no difference to the one whose will is God's if he lives in poverty or riches, is recognized for his accomplishments or not, has made something of his life or lost the opportunity that was at hand.  The will that has been turned over to Christ cannot fret over tomorrow because it has no power over him.  What does tomorrow matter to the one who given over the will to the one controlling tomorrow.  The last bastion of idolatry is the will.  Jesus was able to steadfastly go to Jerusalem where a cross awaited Him because He settled the matter of the will…"not my will but your will be done."  All internal strife, depression and bitterness can be crucified at the point the will becomes the possession of Christ's and is not taken back from Him.


For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.    John 6:38 NIV

No comments: