It has often been said that God gives us free will—which is usually thought of as a will of our own that allows us the liberty to choose either good or evil. But what does God actually give us?
In human experience it certainly seems that we each have a will of our own, and that we begin to assert it at a very early age. My parents used to love to tell this story, for example, about my toddler days: When they would try to help me with something I was learning to do, I would assert my independence, saying "Do it myself!" The story always brought a laugh. That's because we can all relate to it; who doesn't want the freedom and independence to think and do things for oneself?
Fortunately, though, I've found through the years that real freedom and independence of thought and action come not from asserting human will but from conforming to the will of God. And that's natural, because (as is made clear in the record of creation in the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible) we're made in God's image, to reflect His nature; this is His will for us, and it's always good, because He is good. Would it be logical, then, to believe that God gives us each a will of our own, apart from His?
