Miss Hepburn said:
A person in love has no free will.
His only reason for living is for the other
.
I have no choice, nor would I want any.
I am a slave to my Lord.
I would have it no other way.
I am His.
Well, I suppose if a man proposes to you, then you will also have no choice. In fact, if a man chooses to have sex with you you have no will to say no. You will be a slave to your man.
I can't leave it there. I have to remind you and others that eternal life is "knowing" God (John17:3). Jesus knocks on the door, asking to come in and dine (have fellowship) (Rev.3:20). It helps to understand this topic if one understands the dynamic of relationship, or at least incorporates it into the discussion. Because
meaningful relationship is such that it requires a willing participation from both parties. I don't really care if we choose not to call it free will. That is merely a man made term that seems to have no agreed upon definition in these discussions. How can we decide if we have it if we don't even all agree as to what it is?
But what we can see is what the scripture says. And it says that God gives grace to the humble; something I have been adding to many discussions. It seems that people want to ignore this truth. So then, I will ask...do we or do we not have the ability to humble ourselves? And does God actually get pleasure from having a relationship with one who did not want one with Him?
We look at one passage..."there is none who seeks
after God", and many make assumptions as to what it is saying. In many if not most cases, these people will quote it and leave out the word "after". They say none seeks God. But that is a misquote. They forget that the passage is about righteousness. Only God is righteous. That is what the passage is getting at. No human seeks "after" His righteousness. If the passage is making the point that no human is righteous, then why insert some idea that no one wants to know God? What's that got to do with being righteous or not? As well, if we want to make a doctrine that says humans are all born with hatred for or disinterest with God, then where is the supporting scripture? On the contrary, scripture shows otherwise, as well as our own experience. For example, there are many who are trying to get to God through works but will be rejected or abased because of their self righteousness. O yes, people seek Him. Our origin is an age old debate. People want to know.