a few weeks ago, langston, kevin, and i were having an interesting conversation concerning the will of God.

the primary questions we were searching out: is God’s will the same as our (free) will? and furthermore, is God’s will what we perceive as reality?

it would seem that in many christian circles whenever anything happens, good or bad, there is a tendency to make the following remark, “well, i guess it was God’s will [for this to happen].” is that really a valid statement for us to make? if so, it should be possible to assume that it is God’s will for hundreds of thousands of children to be sex-slaves. can you picture adam and eve being kicked out of the garden and saying to themselves, “well, i guess this was God’s will, eh?”

personally, i don’t think that is the way it works. the conclusion we came to that evening is that God has a will, a desire if you please. however, when God gifted us with the ability of choice, His will then temporarily (for a few thousand years) became subject to our wills. (if this thought sounds totally ridiculous and egregious to you, just continue to think with me for a minute.) He chose to love us by allowing us to choose Him. if God’s will was still immediately supreme in our lives, why would we still have the ability to sin? if you still disagree, please see revelation chapter 3.

therefore, it seems fairly obvious that God’s final will for the earth and our free will are not synonymous (if they were, would it truly be a choice?). consequently, what we see on earth is a mixture of God’s will and our will. due to the fact that there are some people who attempt to align their will with God’s will, it is not solely our human will that is apparently in this world. God chooses to enact His will on earth through His Church, His people.

and this is why it’s incredibly important that we truly seek to be God’s hands and feet in the world. otherwise, we’re left with a world full of everyone’s will but God’s. and who would want to live in a place like that?