It’s easy to find people who can express their opinions about the Bible while keeping a tight grip on the amount of their will they surrender to God. Sound familiar? In a controlled environment and at a comfortable distance, many live their lives keeping God in a box and only letting him out when they want something or have a crisis.
I can write from my own experiences, as I’ve lived much of my life this way. It’s only after spending years researching about the war between our carnality and God’s Spirit that I have been graciously given a glimpse of the difference between Christianity and religiosity.
We could say that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is accepting God to be our master, while religion attempts to be the master of God. Instead of trying to create a concept of the way we hope he is, it would be wise to embrace him the way he really is.
Included within the blessings of being human, we’ve been given what is called free will. This means each of us has the opportunity to believe whatever we want. The one who created us does not force us to love or serve him. However, he does convict and draw people to himself. Ultimately, it’s up to the individual to choose whom they will serve. Some will say they serve no one, but, in reality, they are still serving themselves.
For those who proclaim to be Christians, we are reminded that we have just as much God as we want, which again is controlled by our will. We have the invitation and freedom to decide how serious we are and where to draw the line in our commitment to follow Christ.