The Will of God...

    What does the will of God look like?  How do we know what God’s will is for our lives?  What happens when God’s will is not our will, or when our will is not God’s will?  Some may even ask, “Does God even have a will, or are we just reframing our lives to make them more bearable by blaming or affirming life’s ups and downs” on God?”  These are the kinds of questions we ask, and rightly so.
    As a parent it is so easy for me to want my children to do my will, and there are times when I go to great lengths to assure that my will is done.  (“No, you can’t watch TV, you have to finish your homework first...”) After all, I have the best interest of my family and child at heart, so it only seems right that they listen and follow.  And yet from an early age, I learned that my children don’t always listen or follow my will.  In fact, dare I say it, they have a will of their own!  As frustrating as this is, I have been able to see that, because they have their own will and ways, there are times when they learn from their mistakes and successes...if they are willing and able to step back from the situation and really look at what happened, how it played out, and glean a life lesson from it.
    As a parent, it is wonderfully rewarding to experience this with and for my children, because I am able to see them grow and be changed into people who live into a way of life, that at least for me, seems to be a blessing.  At the same time, it is terribly frustrating when they do not step back from the situation or they do not take away the learning from a wonderful opportunity to do so, and yet my only recourse is to simply state my desire and point out the lesson I see, hoping that one day they might understand and be blessed.
    Recently I’ve found myself reflecting up and looking for the Will of God for my life, for the Church, and for others, and I have to say that it is a humbling experience.  After all, God is the Holy Parent, and I believe that just as frustrated as I get with my own children, so God must get frustrated with me (us).  At the same time, God also must rejoice when we do see and follow, for God knows that when we do, we are growing more fully into who God is calling us to become.

    This morning I was led to read the 19th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, verses 13-30, and through it I recognized an invitation to follow the will of God.  It basically breaks down into three sections.  It starts with some parents bringing children to Jesus because they want Jesus to pray for and lay hands upon them.  The disciples try to stop them, but Jesus says, “Let the Little children come to me.”  He blesses them.
    Then they are approached by one who is know as “The Rich Young Man.”  He wanted to know how to inherit eternal life.  Jesus told him to follow the commandments, and the Rich Man replies that he has, to which Jesus says, “Well then, sell everything and give it to the poor.”  It’s too much for the man, and he walks away dejected.
    Finally, as the man is walking away, Jesus says something about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to get into heaven.  After this interchange, Peter pipes up and says, “Well Jesus, we’ve left everything to follow you.  What’s in it for us?”  Jesus assures Peter and the rest that they will have a place in heaven, as will all who give up their lives and possessions for the sake of the Kingdom.
    He ends it by saying, “Many who are the greatest now will be the least important then, and those who seem least important now will be greatest then.” (NLT)

    As I thought about what was going on here, I found this passage screaming to me about the will of God.  In the situation with the parents bringing the children, I thought about how we are taught from a young age to be self-sufficient, even to stand by and live into our will.  And yet, those children were not doing that.  Instead, it was the parents who brought the children to Jesus.  It was their will for Jesus to bless them, and when they did, the children were blessed.
    So often we think that we have to take the initiative on things, but often it is not on us.  Sometimes we need others to bring us forward to Christ, even when the naysayers try to push us back.  Sometimes it is the will and desire of another for us to be made whole, that leads us to follow Jesus’ will.
    This rich man had a great desire to follow the will of God, but in the end, he couldn’t.  His will...his lifestyle...was greater than God’s will.  And it was so strong that he couldn’t see or understand how wrapped up he was in his riches and wealth.  His comfort was stronger than the world’s discomfort.  His power won over the power of submission to Christ.  As a consequence, the will of God was not done, and the man was left to wrestle with the meaning of this.
    Finally, in Peter’s question, it is interesting to me how self-focused Peter is.  Peter wants to know what’s in it for him and them, and yet Jesus’ response is not one of condemnation.  Instead, Jesus connects with Peter in a powerful way by saying, “You know what?  I know that your will is to be mine and to follow, and you have proved that.  As such, I want what you want.  Your will is God’s will and God’s will is Your will.  Be blessed.”
    Each person in this story wondered about God’s will for their lives.  They wondered whether they were a part of God’s plan.  In the end, they discovered God’s will, and the lesson that Jesus shared was that, in order for God’s will to be done, there is an invitation to a call.  That call and the answer to that call is for them...and us...to submit to and surrender to Jesus.  To let go and let God have the reins of our lives, so that God can use and bless us to reveal God’s will for us, those around us and the world.
    This call is a powerful and always at work, for the great lesson and gift is that, if we do this...if we seek and follow the will of God...we gain everything.  If we don’t, we risk losing it all. 

What is God’s will for you?  What’s standing in the way of living into God’s will?