It's My Way or the High Way

A friend of mine chatted with me earlier this afternoon and shared his concerns on the terrifying events happening in the world. The series of earthquakes in the first quarter of the year, the oil spills in the west, uproar in Thailand, and hostility and deaths all around. Sometimes it seems that God has loosened his control already. But of course that's not possible. Everything must pass through the go signal of God.

Many of us have mixed feelings on deaths and also on the second coming of Christ. Some of us can opt to be happy because God has chosen us and so we are saved.. which means we won't go to hell anymore. Yey. But we are also concerned for the other people who have chosen to not believe in Christ. Maybe we can blame "free will" (or God for that matter). Why did God allow free will? Why did He allow men to not choose Him?

Well, guess what. Let me tell you a fact that might cause you a heart attack (if this is your first time hearing it), so brace yourselves. We are born to die, not just physically but also spiritually. Sin has crept in human nature and is spreading like cancer. We are dying day by day. After Adam and Eve took a bite of the forbidden fruit, sin penetrated and grew. Imagine this, a generation later their son murdered his own brother. Sin can't get out of the system anymore. We cannot just choose to live and forbid death. We cannot work our way up to God and build our own version of Tower of Babel. We cannot work hard and earn merits to enter heaven. It's simply impossible. Death, by all means is possible. Life is definitely impossible.

I guess, there is no free will. If you want your free will, then it's your way and not the High way. (Our way is to be trapped in our sinful nature and die, since it's impossible to choose life.) BUT, and there's a big BUT here. There is the High way. Because God loves the world that He created, He has given us grace - a gift - such that through the gift, we have been given life. This grace is nothing but Jesus Christ, the life of the begotten Son Himself. May God grant you the wisdom and understanding, fervor and delight to take in this beautiful news.

Take heart dear brothers and sisters and live the High Way. To live is Christ! :)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. ~ Ephesians 2:8-9