God’s original intent was that we humans reflect His Nature, this is why we were made in His Image. Unfortunately, The Downfall has caused us to go way off course. But this is the purpose of Sanctification. Once we are saved, we begin to transform back into this original state, where peace should be our reality, no matter what is going on a round us. As we transform, we become more self-LESS, just like Jesus. The more mature we become in Christ, the more relaxed we can be, using this precious gift of peace instead of being stressed out about everything.
Remember this is a process, and so God requires two things from us so that we can engage in Sanctification. The first one is a willing heart because God will never force us to be with Him and grow. Perfect Love has nothing to do with coercion, it is all about Freedom, thus the gift of Free Will! We get to make all sorts of choices, every day. But we must never forget that God is still Sovereign, even though he allows us to make many choices. He is in full control of everything and everyone. As He has told me many times, “Child, I have given you the gift of Free Will, not Free Reign!” But that is what we would hope from a loving Father.
For example, as parents, we cannot allow our young children to just choose whatever they want, whenever they want, right? They would be eating candy for dinner, running around and staying up till all hours of the night till they dropped…and they would be very unhealthy, spoiled brats. My Friends, God desires so much better than that for us, so He allows us to choose many things, but not everything, Certainly one of the choices we must make is whether we are willing to come to Him and grow. First and foremost we must be willing to give God our hearts.
<>< Peace, Diane
