The Connection Devotional - Week of January 17 - The Connection Devotional with Skip Heitzig, Daily Devotional

The Connection Devotional - Week of January 17

January 17, 2014

January 17, 2014
Free Choice
By Skip Heitzig

A while back, somebody marketed a doll called “Mr. Wonderful,” who’s always smiling and has been programmed to always say the right things: “You look so beautiful in the morning,” “Have I told you I love you lately?” and “Why don’t you sit down and let me rub your feet?” Just give him some batteries and he's a happy man.

God could have made the world filled with Mr. Wonderful dolls, people pre-programmed to say and do the right things. They would say, "God, I've been thinking about you all day. I love to honor, praise, and bless You from my heart." If He had created mechanical dolls to give Him that kind of praise and submission, there would be no evil in the world—no rape, no murder, no selfishness, no crime—because that wouldn't be programmed into our components.

But there are drawbacks to a Mr. Wonderful doll. It’s not real and its compliments are mindless and mechanical. So what if it says, "I love you"? It's not real love from a real heart. There's no real submission.

Instead of making robots like that, God created people who are capable of real love. He gave us an incredible freedom, which we know as volition, or the freedom of choice.

Some people ask, “Why did God create evil?” Listen carefully: God did not create evil per se, but He did create the potential for evil by creating creatures with free will. It was man who turned that potential into an actuality. The next inevitable question is: “Then why did God allow people to have free will?" Again, listen very carefully: You could never have a world where people have genuine freedom unless they had the potential to sin. You can't say, "You have freedom of choice, but you can only choose this." That's not free choice. And if you don't have free will, then you don't have a world with love, because love requires free will.

So God, in His love, in creating a world with volition, must allow people's choices and the consequences of those choices—which can be great evil. God is loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, just, and holy. But massive evil exists, because we live in a fallen world. But one day God will judge sin, make all wrongs right, and eradicate evil.

On a personal level, our free choice should be to say, "Lord God, reign over me. May Your authority come over this life. I surrender voluntarily. You don't have to push a button; I'm not a Mr. Wonderful doll. I voluntarily allow You to rule and reign over my life. And may Your will be done in me, as it is heaven."

Who's sitting on the throne of your heart? Is God controlling your life? Or are you still sitting on that throne of authority? Jesus is coming back. He is bringing a kingdom, but we can voluntarily submit now, not later, to that kingship. The question is: Will you make the choice to let Him rule?

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