Yet man does not have to be a victim, trapped and crushed between these two powerful armies of angels. For God has made us “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27; James 3:9). Each of us has a spirit or soul which lives beyond the death of the body (Matthew 10:28). We can also make real choices about which side we serve.
Joshua told his people that they had to make a choice between the true God and false gods.
Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15).
Much later, Jesus said,
If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God... (John 7:17).
Mary was one person who chose the good (Luke 10:42). Pressure—called “temptation”—to do wrong is a necessary part of this world (Matthew 18:7). But 1 Corinthians 10:13 shows that the follower of God does not have to give in to temptation. These Scriptures show that people must make a choice between God and Satan, good and evil.
It is true that God commands us to worship Him. He demands our full love. But He does not force this love from us. Notice how the book of Deuteronomy, which commanded love for God (6:5), also makes it part of a choice (for our good):
I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).
God is not interested in pretended love or in forced love from us. He could have made a machine for such kinds of “love.”
Instead He made people with spirits and hearts that can love Him freely and willingly. Jesus said that God actually “seeks” such “true worshipers,” who “will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).
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