While our choices are ¹free and 100% ours (i.e. we freely choose to do what we want), our ³wills are not. Our wills are tied to our desires.
To say it another way, our "chooser" is not broken but our "wanter" is.
²And our wants (desires) dictate what we ¹choose to pursue.
If we desire (want) the wrong things we choose to pursue the wrong things.
And our desires are tied to what we value. The more we value something, the more we desire it and the harder we pursue it.
And we value only what we ⁴see as valuable.
If ⁴we are blind to seeing God's true value, worth, beauty, wisdom, glory, majesty, and power as our infinite loving Creator - i.e. the Source of life, love, and all things - we will never pursue Him as the infinitely valuable and significant being that He is. We will desire and pursue created things and beings instead.
(For a further discussion on our ability to see things as they truly are, click here.)
Why? ⁵We are like God and created to enjoy (delight in) Him who is most valuable, beautiful, wise, glorious, majestic, and loving. Absent a personal relationship with Him, we go after His creation (the next best thing) to fill the void of His absence. Particularly other bearers of His image (you and I) who, by design, are most like God and have the greatest capacity to love and reflect Him most when in union with Him through Christ.
And what is truly valuable is experienced by faith more than pleasant circumstances.
"...without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - Heb 11:6
For a further discussion on the importance and necessity of faith, click here.
So do we have any evidence that God is trustworthy outside of - or inspite of - our circumstances? Yes, Christ himself and what he went through to restore us to the Father. If this was the only evidence to prove God's love to and for us, it is more than sufficient. No other evidence is necessary.
God's glory is our glory.
Scripture tells us God is infinitely valuable (glorious) but what about our value and our feeling significant or important? Are we valuable? Does it matter? If so, why?
Because God is significant, important, and valuable, we are and must be like Him in this same way in order for us to be able to appreciate and enjoy these qualities in Him.
We are told in Jas 4:
[5] "...Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”"?
What kind of spirit has God put within us? A spirit that longs (is passionate) for infinite love, worth, and glory. Love that can only be satisfied fully by the Source of love - our Creator; not by creation including the innate talents and gifts we already possess... such as musical, mechnical, business, artististic, speaking, writing, or intellectional skills etc.
He will not share in (is jealous over) our pursuit or loyalty to any other "lover" because He knows our greatest joy and satisfaction is ultimately in Him. There is no other true "lover" who can fill this need and desire in us for love; love that He designed to be filled ultimately and only by God who is love. Not because He needs our love but because we need His. This is "the spirit He has made to dwell in us."
Our capacity to value and enjoy Him is unparalleled by any other creature - even celestial beings.
Our being in His image wasn't happenstance. He designed us this way. He is the Creator, we are His creatures...but unlike the rest of creation we are created in His image. Therefore He loves us and desires we experience Him to the maximum extend of His true worth and our capacity as bearers of His image.
Everything in creation we seek for life outside of God is temporary. Creation is good and has value but it is limited. Therefore it comes up short of filling our need for and sense of value-worth (glory). God gives us creation as a means of revealing Himself to us and as evidence of His infinite love for us. But it was never meant to be our god i.e. that which we worship and pursue.
GOD alone is the Source of infinite love. To experience His love to the maximum extent of our capacity, we must give Him all our loyalty and faithfulness (i.e. have no other "gods" before Him). Otherwise we will never experience His love as it truly is and as we were designed to, but instead we will pursue created things for love, meaning, and purpose outside of and instead of Him. We can not worship both God and mammon.
Where does this need/desire for significance (glory) come from? Click here.
Why was there a forbidden tree in the garden? Click here.
For a discussion on the necessity of choice click here.
For a further discussion on how our "wanter" is broken and not our "chooser" click here.
For a discussion on ability vs responsibility click here
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Footnotes:
¹And our choices are ours alone. No one else's, including God. Therefore we are fully accountable for what we value and chose to pursue.
²Note the progression of the "ands" above. Each deals with a significant shift, but also a vital connection to the previous and following "and" statement. To get to the 2nd "and" you must acknowledge the 1st. And to get to the 3rd we must recognize the 2nd etc.
*our wants-desires dictate what we ¹choose to pursue.
*our desires-wants are tied to what we value
*we value only what we ⁴see as valuable.
*our partaking of and participation in His love is primarily by faith
³Is God free to do whatever he wants? 100%! But because God is holy He only wants (desires-wills) what is good and best and freely choses righteousness i.e. His character or nature dictates His will/desires, as does ours.
For a fuller discussion click here.
⁴To see truly, the Spirit of God must reside in us. And that only occurs after we've been "born again" i.e. after we are spiritually regenerated.
"Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (1st) he cannot see the kingdom of God.” " John 3:30
Before we are born again we are blind to spiritual things - i.e. things pertaining to God's kingdom. The Bible says we are dead to God. Last I checked dead people don't see very well 😉!
⁵Why does our feeling and desire for significance, importance, and value matter?
We are like God who is significant, important, or valuable. We must be like Him so we can appreciate and enjoy these qualities in Him. Those persons or beings most like God are most able to appreciate and enjoy Him as He is.
God's significance, importance, and value (glory) are the foundation for (and Source of) ours. Our recognizing this about God is essential to experiencing our own true value (glory). The more we see his glory the more we experience our glory in and through Him.
