More on Free Will

I was thinking today--well, it was a nice day, so I was out cleaning in the pasture.
Dr. Root used to say that analogies always have their limits. This is so true of my analogy about free will and pets and grown children. There are parallels to a point, but there are huge limits too. For example, at least in our culture, as my daughter gets older she will become more my "equal". Perhaps this is not so true in other cultures, where the elders are much respected; but I was thinking about Adam, and wondering how many greats he attained in his grandpahood before he died. (I'll have to do the math on that one.) I'm sure it was LOTS, and I suspect that his children, only having one less great in their titles, were on a nearly equal status with him, even IF elders were highly revered back then. On the other hand, no matter how OLD we get, we never even come close to approaching equality with God.

Another limit is in God's provision for us. With the exception of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness and gathering manna daily, and of course isolated individual episodes, by and large God allows us the illusion that we provide for ourselves. We plant the seeds, they grow. We tend the fields, we reap the harvest. He allows us the illusion, if we choose to believe it, that we can survive without His provision. My cats can hunt My dogs can scavange. My horses could break through the fence and head west to lush fields and plenty of water.

I think God allows us the freedom to "provide for ourselves" in order that we don't love Him BECAUSE he is the provider. I don't think He wants us as pets. I think there are times in each of our lives when we have to be trained that He is trustworthy. Today, I mowed some grass for my horses and I took the mower bag out into the pasture to dump it and Pablo pulled back from it. Whenever he shies from something, I make it a point to "desensitize him" to it; because I want him to know that when I am present, he need not fear anything. (When I ride him someday, I don't want him spooking at things.) So he is learning that if he shies from something, it will follow him until he quits moving away from it. He also is learning that if IT is in my hand, it will not hurt him. Anything in my hand is safe, because I am safe.

I think sometimes God lets our "crops fail" so that we will remember to trust Him. It is healthier for us to live without worry--it is healthier for us to trust Him. But it is also essential to our relationship with God that we know we can depend on Him.