Destiny

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.


Is there such a thing as destiny when it comes to God's children?  Is our fate written down when we draw our first breath in writing that cannot be effaced because it comes from the hand of God?  

Someone told me that it was the fate of Judas that he and only he would be the one to turn Jesus over to be crucified, that this part of Judas had been written for him and that he could not escape it. 

If we take to heart the last paragraph, then no one is responsible for anything that they do because what they did was decreed by God. 

Actually, there is biblical proof that we have the free will to accept or reject the will of God when it comes to our lives.  Start in the garden of Eden and we see that Adam and Eve had the free will to either to obey God or to disobey Him.  God's will was that they be happy and He gave them the tools that they needed to make themselves so.  But, they decided that they wanted to be like God and so they ate of the fruit and truly, their eyes were opened and they were afraid and ashamed at what they saw.  They exercised their free will. 

So too did Judas Iscariot.  He had all of the tools that the other apostles had and could have followed Jesus to Calvary.  Jesus was going to die, that is why He came down from heaven and if Judas didn't betray Him, someone else or some other circumstance would have intervened and God's plan for man would have been accomplished. 

Our ultimate fate is to be with God in heaven.  This is His will and His pleasure.  He also wants no friend that does not come willingly and of their own free will so He allows us to choose.  We have within us a need to be reunited with the Father.  Nothing else will place our souls at rest.  We have within us a soul that can accept or reject the grace of God at our pleasure.  If we reject God, He will allow us to go our own way.  If we desire Him as a friend, then we will be with Him in heaven for all eternity, and that is a long time! 

So, fate does not control our destiny.  We control it using the free will that God has given us.  Pray for the wisdom to take the proper steps so that one day you may breathe in on earth and exhale in heaven. 

Please remember the poor souls during this holiest of weeks.  I bet that Easter is a time of release for many souls and your prayers can help those that remain.