There's an almost unperceivable
line between our choice of action in life and God's willingness to intervene. I
say willingness, because as we know, God is capable of intervening in our
lives, and indeed often does, but our perception is perhaps blurred by our
obstinacy and lack of focus.
There are many
Biblical records of God intervening in the lives of people in order to nudge
them, or "encourage" them, in a certain direction.
Jonah disobeyed God
when asked to go to Nineveh, (Jonah 1:1 onwards), and he was thrown in the sea
and swallowed by a whale which then deposited him on dry land where he decided
to go to Nineveh.
Paul persecuted the
early-Christians and was thrown off his horse on the way to Damascus and
eventually went on to preach about Jesus in many lands, even though he himself
had never met Jesus personally. (Acts 8:1 onwards).
The Angel asked Mary
to become the Mother of Jesus and she agreed. He also told Joseph not to
abandon Mary but to take her as his wife. Later he announced the birth of Jesus
to the shepherds, he also told the Magi to avoid going back to Herod, and
warned Joseph to escape with Mary and Jesus to Egypt.
All these are examples
of God's interventions in peoples' lives and people responding accordingly. No
doubt you can think of many other such instances.
One thing should be
clearly understood, however; in all these instances the individuals concerned
had the right and the freedom to say "No" to God's invitation.
Admittedly, you would think that being swallowed by a whale, or thrown off a
horse and blinded, would be incentive enough to obey God; but it should be
clearly underlined that at all times the choice to say, "No, I cannot do
as you ask God" was present as an option.
Paul could have said,
“All right God, I’ll stop persecuting Christians, but I’ll leave it at that.”
He did not have to become one of the greatest missionaries ever and suffer many
arrests, beatings and imprisonments and death for spreading the Good News of
Christ. He did that voluntarily and was in no way forced by God into this
course of action. The same applies to Jonah, Moses, Peter and the other
disciples and to everyone else who chooses to follow Christ ever since.
Including you and me. We are in no way forced to love and obey God. And many
today choose not to.
Mary could have said,
"No!", but she didn't. Joseph equally could have decided to leave
Mary, but he didn't.
The principle that
individuals at all times have a choice is paramount, because without it it
would imply that God has created a robotic humanity unable to decide for itself
and controllable by one Divine mind.
This principle applied
then as it still applies now to you and me and many others.
If we are honest with
ourselves, there have been several instances in our lives where God has
intervened and "nudged" us in certain directions. Whether we answered
the call or not is a personal matter. There have also been instances where His
intervention has saved us from unimaginable bad situations; perhaps without our
knowledge at the time, but thinking back we can see His hand in events in our
lives.
What is important is
to remember that God's interventions are like that of a friend. He advises on
the best course of action, on what to do or say and when to do it; but at all
time we retain the freedom of choice whether to accept the advice or not. Just
as you would do if a human friend gave you advice on a certain course of
action.
And that is the Thin Line
of intervention upon which our faith depends.
God the loving Creator
Father guides His creations through the teachings of Christ and the works of
the Holy Spirit. We retain the choice as to how we respond.
