Significance of Choice

The faith question

Why do you think God gave man the privilege of choice - choosing whom we will serve?

My answer

This is one of those questions that I have not been able to satisfactorily answer to myself. I guess as you keep growing in the Lord, the questions you have to overcome get more complex.

The question of CHOICE goes far beyond a single book of the Bible. It appears in the books of John, Jude and Matthew among others. Since the question of choice is inextricably linked with the Day of Judgement, the most notable source for the CHOICE question is the Book of Revelation. This book, mind you, is a full force gale of allegory and interpretation...not to embarked by anyone without appropriate education and guidance. What make it most daunting is that this is the book that exposes you most to the risk of misinterpretation and derailment. This doesn't however mean that other books of the Bible are open to rampant interpretation...just that the Book of Revelations has far too much symbolism for an amateur discussion.

"Worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone" (Matthew 4:8-10)

As a believer, I don't have a problem understanding the Lord's command to server him alone, but I am still at a loss about the following:

...nor does he temp anyone (James 1:13)

Yet God allowed Satan to test Job (Job 1:12; 2:6)? We are in a position to question why this apparent dichotomy takes place, but what does it mean to us?

Since the Lord is not the source of the temptation that we have to struggle with every day...we know that it is Satan's work. Yet, unfortunately, I have not yet been able to understand why God has allowed Satan to continue to rebel...even if it for a while...

Another interesting theme in the CHOICE question is that Satan is not allowed to force us. He can only misguide us to make our own (inevitably fatal) choices. What is the corresponding reference to the scripture that gives us this assurance? Secondly, if the coming of Christ, our Lord, was a sign of the destruction of the devil, then what is the significance of our continuing struggle with temptation?

I am sorry that this question of Faith leads me to more questions than any conclusive answers.

...Whole in One