Monday, July 4th. Why Did God Give Us Choice?

Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Titus 2:14

I have often wondered, when considering my flesh nature, why God made me this way. Why did God put the fruit in the garden of Eden and then give Adam and Eve the desire for it? Did He not know that they would choose lawlessness?  Why would He make a system where He would have to die for us because we chose destruction?

If He wanted us to obey him and if He is the creator/designer of the universe, should He not have just made us as robots, incapable of choosing self over God?

Love.  That is the reason that He gave us choice. God is love (1 John 4:8) and He created us to love us. Love longs to be loved back and love risks the possibility that we will not love back. He could have fashioned us with the capacity only for obedience and He could have given us no choice, but then we would be incapable of choosing him. We would be incapable of really loving him.

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus said our purpose in this life was to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37). So, love is the reason we have choice. Love is our reason, purpose and meaning.

God loves us and He longs for us to choose him and love him back. He however, gives us the option of choosing self over God. Today however, I will choose God over self. I will choose to love God and pursue my real purpose in life.