Free Will

C.S. Lewis talks about the free will issue a lot in Mere Christianity.  Frequently we disagree with God and, since we can't see the big picture, only the pieces that surround our own little piece of the puzzle, we (at least I!) ponder the "whys".  But Lewis says that since God is the source from all our reasoning powers come, we could not be right and He wrong any more than a stream can rise higher than its own source- in fact it's like cutting off the branch you are sitting on.  Therefore, if God "thinks this state of war in the universe a price worth paying for free will, then we may take it is worth paying."

There's another angle to this.  Frequently we feel guilty for "not having done enough".  We see someone we care about making mistakes or having hard times, we try to help but they falter anyway, and we blame ourselves.  Of course we have to examine our actions and motives.  Were we acting as enablers or behaving condescendingly, or being judgmental or critical?  But let's assume that we were none of those things, that we responded solely from a caring heart and a desire to bear another's burdens and that our help was rejected, ignored, or didn't do the trick.

In "Walking on Water", Madeleine L'Engle related an experience where she was full of guilt for not having done enough for a loved one.  She blamed herself so badly that she went to talk to a spiritual advisor about it.  If you've read any of her Austin family novels you might be surprised to learn, as I did, that Canon Tallis is a real person!  I love his response to her.

"Who are you to think you are better than our Lord?  After all, he was singularly unsuccessful with a great many people."

This really gave me pause.  Think about it- Jesus did all that was required, and still is rejected.  He came to rescue us with the purest motives and the purest love.  He didn't nag, he called sin sin but he made it clear that the sinners were dearly loved, precious and valued in spite of it.  If that is rejected by some, why should we beat ourselves up with guilt when we are rejected?

And think about this- knowing that his Son would be rejected, God still chose to give us free will.  It was that important to him that the love and obedience that we DID give to him would be genuine and would be our choice.  Honestly, when you think of all that God did- he knows we are bent to self-destruction, war and hatred, yet he gave us the choice to come to him independently and considered the risks worthwhile.  And consider this too- he knew just how much would be lost when he made the choice.  Grace is indeed amazing, and so is free will.   

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