Love means allowing ‘Free Choice’

The saddest forms of violence in the community would have to be ‘domestic violence’ and the extreme of the ‘murder suicide’. Sad, because they are a reflection of the complete breakdown of the love relationship, when physical force becomes the ‘normal’ method of achieving one’s will. And yet, as long as ‘love relationships’ are based on ‘attraction, enjoyment, I want...’, then breakdown of one form or another is inevitable because the foundations are wrong.

As our Pastor reminded us last week, blind Bartimaeus (Mk.10:46) was not immediately healed by Jesus until Jesus had asked him what he wanted - (even) God’s love is not imposed. Love is not primarily about attraction or compatibility, but about wills. The will to love the other, come-what-may and the will to allow the other to exercise their own free will. Two such loving wills, together become ‘our will’ or ‘one flesh’ (Mk.10:8). Without free will, there cannot be love.

God’s love for us allows us our ‘free will’. The wonder of prayer is that we can ‘influence’ God’s will, and in seeking to discover His will and subjugating our will to His, the result will be that beautiful outcome of a love relationship, ‘our will’.

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