God rules in heaven, He rules over hell, everything is subject to the Almighty, for if it was not for Him, nothing would exist.
“The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)
Mankind does not like this truth, in all reality, no one who has been created with free will completely does, for free will itself is exactly what it says, the freedom to do whatever we want to do. To say that free will has a master is a contradiction in terms, for the only Master, in this regard, the Living God, is truly the only one who has total and unmitigated free will.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)
There are two verses that I would ask you to contemplate in reference to these truths, one is a commandment, the other is a choice.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matt. 22:37) And “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
The Master commands, yet at the same time offers a choice, if you can understand these truths, then you will begin to understand the ultimate limit of your free will.
I must put this bluntly; I pray you hear it in faith and reverence towards the Living God. If you love Him, you will spend eternity with Him, if you do not do as you have been commanded to do, if you do not love Him, you will be eternally damned. There is the choice, this is as far as your free will can go, it can go no further in respect to where you will spend eternity.
And I offer you this truth as well, that love cannot be feigned.
“For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1st Sam. 16:7b)
Those that you say you love in this life see the truth of your love for them by your actions towards them and by the emotions expressed for them in any given circumstance, your life is bound up in theirs. This can only be done by your own free will, it cannot be forced, and it can easily be seen as faked when it is not real.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
True love places the object of its affections above itself, above yourself. Only this love can in all honesty say, “Thy will be done.”
The difference with our love towards those of this world and the love we express towards our Father in heaven is this, and it has to do with the totality of our free will, we are obedient to His will. Here is that choice, here is the answer to the supposed contradiction the unrepentant cannot understand, it is by our own free will that we subject our will to the Most High.
It is our choice to do so.
If we only do that which we are commanded to do, recall here that “thou shalt love,” then we will be counted unprofitable, and the unprofitable servant is cast out. To be profitable is to do more than what we have been commanded to do, it is to offer our love for Him fully and freely, negating our free will for His will.
Obedience in love is the epitome of love my friends.
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” (Job 13:15)
That love of obedience reached its pinnacle at the cross. Remember that.
True love, that love for your Father in heaven, the only One who has true, unfettered free will, is the only love that can say, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.”
Until you can recognize the complete and unchallenged Sovereignty of the Almighty, you will never fully comprehend the nearly boundless limits of your own free will.
The choice, my friends, has always been ours.
