God’s Love and the Power of Choice (Part 1)

The power of freewill, or choice, may be debated by many within the realm of theology. Predestination, as promoted by some, appears to eliminate freewill. In the hierarchy of sovereignty, the first commandment of the law of love states that no other god is to come before, or be primary/supreme to, God. So, any discussion of love and the power of choice must be within the context of a hierarchy of rule and available options from which one might choose.

Under the umbrella of supremacy God allows for freewill to choose selfishness or unselfishness. As presented by Moses and Joshua, we are to choose whom we will serve.

“See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” KJV, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, emphasis added.

“Now therefore fear [respect] the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” KJV, Joshua 24:14, 15, emphasis added.

So far we have only touched upon the matter of our power of choice. In the next part, we will see what the Bible has to say about God and His power of choice.