Do We Honestly Have Free-will?  

My best friend Liz loves nature; she also likes outside more than I am.  Two or so years ago she convinced her husband to buy chicks.  A few months ago she got a new set of chicks, and Liz said that she needed to clip these checks wings because, unlike the other chickens, these new chicken were trying to fly—they were going to the highest point and jumping and gliding.  Believe it or not, living without freedom is like a bird whose wings were clipped.

What’s Free About Free-Will

Free-will has been a convenient topic amongst those who are in some form of protestant religion; God has orchestrated for humanity to live without any limitations; we are free to make choices with nothing driving our decision.  Is free-will really free when there is always a cost to reckless choices?  Am I really able to make self-governing decisions—with no outside influence drawing me to my choices—when the Bible says that God has ordained steps, knows the end from the beginning, never changes and is all-knowing?  We know he is not in the habit of taking prisoners.  So in this week’s article, I want to throw around some thoughts and ideas of what real free will looks like.  I think we have gotten it all wrong and it is a big misunderstanding of what choices we have and don’t have.  How do we all indeed have free will when there are so many testimonies and stories of God interrupting someone’s will?  God has interrupted many plans of bombings by terrorist, interrupted shooters plan to kill, a rapist from raping and stopped an abuser from abusing…so where does free-will really exist?

Real freedom is a topic we lean on when we want to do as we feel but hate when we are the victims of someone else’s freedom.  The mere idea of this freedom makes us think we are in control of our lives when it’s convenient but turn on God when he gives the same opportunity to a good-for-nothing wretches that deserves death. So because God allows this vagabond the gift of free-will—to rape and steal what means everything to us—we then hold our love for God as a ransom because He allowed someone else’s will to bring pain on us.  We think it’s unfair for him to interrupt our will, but in turn, believe it’s justice for him to interrupt someone else’s; if it makes our world better.  Does that seem reasonable?

Grounded Bird

For the last few weeks, we have been using different parts of the book, The Shack, to raise some arguments about tragedy and God’s role in them.  Mack is a haunted man because of a family member’s untimely death.  Because of his pain from losing someone dear, Mack’s faith in God and good, is challenged.    Mack talks about free-will and the character that plays God the Father, talks about man’s limitations.  

It is my thought that choices everyone makes, outside of God, is driven by something.  I do not believe that molesters molest because they are free to; sin, hate, and wickedness is the chain that keeps them bound to this wretched behavior.  Serial killers are not killing because they are free to kill; if anything they held hostage to their emotions than anyone and so are we if we don’t have God.  When we do not trust God and don’t follow God’s instructions we are not living at our fullest capacity; we are limited.  I do not believe that we operate in the free will that God intended. 

On page 99 it says, “Most birds were created to fly.  Being grounded for them is a limitation within their ability to fly, not the other way around.  You (us) on the other hand were created to be loved.  So for you to love as you were unloved is a limitation, not the other way around…Living unloved is like clipping a bird’s wings and removing its ability to fly.  That’s not something I want for you.  Pain has a way of clipping a bird’s wings and keeping us from being able to fly.” 

When God created man, he created us to understand love in it’s most intimate form.  We were made to be love.   We were MADE to BE loved.  Do you understand that our purpose in life is not to pursue happiness, or gain money but to live in the center of pure unconditional love.  We are made to receive the most intimate, unreserved version of love that exists in the universe.  This is why we desire companionship, relationship, and acceptance.  

In this wretched world, who could possibly love us to the point where our limitations are none existent?  What would happen if we let go of our fears and allow that perfect person to love us in their most profound capacity?  When we truly understood the power of this love we make decisions with love in mind—not selfishness, malice, greed, fear or spite.  If we are honest, we can admit that we are bound by the chains of selfishness and fear of rejection because all we want to do is take care of ourselves.  When you think of the crimes that are committed, most of them are committed out of selfishness and greed.

Has your pain clipped your wings?  Think about a moment in time that you felt like you were doing so well and something just came in and blindsided you; maybe it was a loss, a betrayal or rejection.  These things clip your wings and keep you from reaching the heights you were meant to experience.  It also keeps us from seeing God from who he really is.

True Love Sets Us Free

How does love and free-will go together?  Everything went wrong when Adam and Eve thought that God didn’t completely love them because he was holding back something they felt they deserved to have; that’s when everything went wrong.  They lost their freedom and became slaves; because of their choices, our wings are clipped. We were no longer able to fly.  Not only that but we are forced to live in a world with other limited birds whose wings are clipped.  And in their desperate effort to remove their limitation, they must violate ours.

On page 102 and 103 God says, “A bird is defined not by being grounded but by his ability to fly.  Remember this, humans are defined not by their limitations, but by their intentions I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but everything it means to be created in my image…Love is not the limitation; love is the flying.  I am love”   

Without God, there is no free-will.  Everyone is born into slavery and the only real choice you have is who will you serve.  So unless you choice to bow the knee to God and let his love set you loose, you do not have free-will.  Without God, you are a slave to fear, addiction, insecurity, uncertainty, anxiety, loneliness, disapproval and the list goes on and on; our wants and desires chain us and cause endless limitations in our relationships.

All our tiring desire to satisfy self is like that baby chick jumping off that ledge and gliding for a moment but never soaring.  You know you want to fly, but all you can do is climb to the top of the highest point in your life and glide down, experiencing a moment of freedom but eventually going back to just walking.  

With Love, There is Nothing You Can’t Do

Love restores YOU back to where you needed to be.  When you understand the unlimited power of love and the healing properties—when you saturate yourself in it—nothing can hold you down.  There is NOTHING you can’t do.  There’s nothing that makes you question who you are and how special God created you to be.  You stop trying to prove yourself, and you enjoy being who God created you to be.  The thoughts that plague you about never being good enough, are silenced.  

Let me be clear, free-will and living a life with no limits does have a cost.  You may understand love and have gotten your wings back, but that doesn’t mean you live in a world where everyone is flying and has the same abilities as you.  You may be free in God, but that means you have a better view of those who are hurting themselves to have what you have.  Once you understand love, you can see what love is, and is not.  You can detect when others are not acting in love; most of all, you understand the reason why people do the unthinkable.  With this new knowledge, you go from questioning God, to accepting the truth that freedom is found in love; without it, every deed of man is corrupted and leads to destruction.   

Weekly Challenge:

What area of your life are you living like a grounded bird?  Well let me tell you 2000 years ago Jesus Christ came to die on the cross so that that we were no longer needed to be bound to those sins.  He loved you and I so much that he gave us a choice.  Sin may have you in bondage but it does not take away your choice to serve God.  Don’t allow your pain to cloud view of God.  Today is the day you can give your heart to God and start your flying lessons.  If you are in need of additional help, please feel free to email us or comment below, whatever is most comfortable.  We would love to help you in this process.  Continue to follow us on Instagram and Facebook @throughthewinters.