Many don't see God as He really is. Many see God as a distant being bereft of feeling with no other role but as that of creator and governor of all.

The only God most people know of is the one that they go to learn about in Sunday meetings. He only exists in word.

The word Father God just roll's off one's lip. Yet, there is no father to daughter or father to son relationship between man and God. It is rather just a play of words. We are actors in a sense. We act as if what we say has meaning to us.

If we really believed God to be our Father why don't we view him as one? Why don't we ascribe to him the same responsibilities as any parent? Why do we expect him to be different than any other father?

As a parent it is our understanding that we are gifted with the role of rearing individuals. Those given to us are under the responsibility of our care. Many confuse parenting with control and ownership. In rearing these individuals we are expected to teach them right from wrong that they may be able to act on their own. This is because we have the understanding that it is their decision to make not ours. This is the crux of free will.

Just because we (or our children) have been gifted with the right to decide does not mean that God or we as parents desire to reward children for choosing wrongful actions. As a parent we still institute correction in order that our children will see the result of wrongful actions and desire to do right

The freedom of decision does not coincide with the freedom to choose whether or not we should be punished for bad decisions.

God is our Father. He recognizes our free will and releases his hands to allow us to act. God is known to have released many to reprobate minds. Many are ignorant to this because they don't understand what a reprobate mind is.

A reprobate mind is an evil mind. A reprobate is a person with a hardened conscience. He that possesses a reprobate mind will commit lewd and sinful acts without thought. They answer solely to instinctual desires.

As our Father, God deeply desires that we choose right, that we choose what is best for us and that we choose Him. This is no different than any other parent.

He is angered when we choose paths of destruction because He loves us and does not wish to see harm come to us.

He knows that if we are not punished for those things that are wrong we will continue to do them. Our conscience and our hearts will suffer.

Many see punishment as evil and unjust. The bible says whom the Father love's He chastises." Punishment is correction; it is an act of love. Punishment keeps us from acting on every perversity or inclination of nature. In our bodies are natural desires to do those things which are harmful or destructive. The apostle Paul is quoted as saying that we war against the flesh daily. There are things that we have a will to do but we do not do. In fact Paul said that every time he turned around evil was present on every hand. Truly, it is not always easy to do the right thing even if we want to.

There are those who are weak and need protection from themselves. There are many whom we need protection from. Correction keeps them safe from themselves and us safe from those who have hardened hearts and no longer choose but are slaves to their corrupt natures "obeying every lust that presents itself." 'No one sees this at the time. For many it takes rehabilitation (re-transformation of the mind) to see this.

For this reason we must be constantly transformed by the renewing of our minds.

In no way does gift of free will nullify God's love for us.

Learn more about this author, Renae Richardson.
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