Free Will is certainly one of the most awesome gifts of God. It is the most powerful and the most dangerous of human faculties. Of all the characteristics that define us as humans, with Free Will, God has bestowed upon each of us the power to thwart his very will, at least in the short term. It’s by the exercise of Free Will that we make the choices that move us towards salvation as well as the choices that can lead to the loss of our very soul. The gift of Free Will demonstrates how eternally important to each of us God considers our love for him to be.
Those who march under the banner of Freedom of Choice may not be too far off the mark in one sense. We do indeed have freedom of choice. We can freely choose to drive a hundred miles per hour through a school zone. We can freely choose to ignore the pain and poverty of an aging parent. And we can freely choose to have an abortion. But choices of that ilk carry inherent consequences that can destroy us.
The fact that we have Freedom of Choice is no guarantee that all our choices are right. The greater the gift, the greater the responsibility to make good and moral use of that gift , and surely there are few gifts greater than Free Will. In his infinite generosity, God has provided us with all the resources necessary to help us across the minefield of life and to avoid the choices that can destroy our spirit. These resources have familiar names and are available to all. Here are a few: The Word of God the Father expressed in scripture, Jesus Christ the Son embodied in the church and it’s teaching, and conscience formed in the Holy Spirit.
