Co-Laborers

Lately God has been saying something new to me. Sometimes, when I ask for His direction, He lets me know that I can choose the way to go. This has been unsettling for me. I’ve long thought I should be seeking to hear God more clearly and more often so He can direct my steps. But now He sometimes says it’s up to me.

I really wondered what was going on until God pointed out that He wants us to be co-laborers with Him (1 Cor. 3:9). He desires that we grow in our relationship with Him so that He does not need to treat us as servants but as friends (John 15:15). And He does not wish to direct our every step as one has to with a horse (Psalm 32:9).

But, I objected, don’t You say that we should walk by the Spirit and that the steps of the righteous man are ordered by the You (Psalm 37:23)? Yes, He replied, but there is an incredible freedom when you walk by the Spirit. I did not say that while all things are permissible, only one thing is beneficial (1 Cor. 6:12 and 10:23). Rather, while not all things are beneficial, many things are.

After all, if we are to reign with Christ (Rev 5:10, 20:6 and 22:5) and will judge both the world and angles (1 Cor. 6:2-3), there is an implication that we will be making decisions – not being simple automatons or mouth pieces for God.

I don’t begin to understand all this but it would seem that, in God’s perfect will, there are a multiplicity of paths that are good, beneficial and which further the Kingdom. Free will is not just a choice between good and bad but is also a choice between different Godly paths that are equally good. Maybe this has something to do with why God makes us all unique with different desires, passions and goals – and then seeks to fulfill the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).

I’m blown away by the possibilities!