In these past few months, I have been thinking a lot about the connection among free will, destiny, and salvation as a triad and how God somehow oversees this process for the brethren in his own divine way.
As I reach the age of 49, having lived both a life of wealth abundance as a youngster and middle high class status as an adult, I’ve been able to draw a few provocative and perhaps life changing conclusions. One of them being that the Lord takes care of His people his way by whatever means necessary even if that causes pain and requires a degree of sacrifice.
Up to the age of 20, my life was golf. I wanna be a professional golfer, at all costs, no questions asked. it was my decision, my free will! Did I know what to choose? Was it my destiny? And more importantly… How would my choice fit God’s plan for salvation?
Now that I’m not 20, I can answer these questions with a degree of certainty. My childhood dream of becoming a tour golfer would likely have resulted in professional failure, like it did to almost all of the Brazilian golfers of my generation.
Now I can surely say that athleticism isn’t always related to true destiny, even if the athlete is a follower of the way. A person can be an be an excellent athlete and still don’t make it.
Golf in particular is played on the weekends, with Sunday being the most important day in open competition. Which impact would playing golf every Sunday have on one’s salvation? A huge impact as I hold the believe that belonging to a church and constantly praying with others is a necessity for a believer to be on track to salvation. Gambling, drinking and living a promiscuous life is part of the sinful culture of the game.
I’m not sure if my free will to choice golf as my life destiny on earth then would have been beneficial or in synch for the man of God that I’m today. In fact, I’m highly doubtful. The temptations were way many then. I’m glad that God enabled me to be a college educator and be an active member of a church body.
My belief: The Lord somehow had a hand in my shifting in career dream for my own sake. It’s a plausible assumption I would argue, from a salvation standpoint.
Now that I am a career college professor, have Sunday’s off to go to church, and am fulfilling my life destiny to teach others media production, I can see what God’s plans really were for me and my salvation. Clearly, the Lord had other plans for me for my own benefit. Im so glad.
I must end this post by saying the being a professor is tough and that I had to do many sacrifices to now do God’s Will. God knows what is right for us, even when we ourselves are uncertain of our own life mission.