As Holy Week draws near, in our gospels Jesus is in Jerusalem, and the plots against him are in motion. Today's gospel ends by saying, "They tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come." The scripture tell us there is a time for everything. But how do we know the right time? Which brings us to the most complex interaction in the universe, that between God's will and free will.
As Christians we believe in both. There is a will of God not only on the level of the universe but on the level of the individual. We also believe that God has endowed each of us with free will. Both are constantly at work. Neither can cancel out the other.
I know that my ultimate destination is my choice: the turn toward God- Heaven, or the turn away from God-Hell. In the interim, it is a kind of dance. Through study and prayer, the goal is to bring our free will more constantly in sync with the will of God, the only source of true freedom.
The mechanism of interaction between God's will and free will is a mystery we will never comprehend, at least not in this life. What we can do is trust. Trust in the unchanging Love of God for each of us, and let him lead.
