Several of my friends like the song, Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood. It’s a good tune, has a nice hook. People especially like the theme; surrendering ones life to Jesus. As the old saying goes – let go and let God. This idea of surrendering ourselves to the God’s will has been around for a long time. The apostle Paul refers to Jesus as Lord over and over. The Greek word he uses was the one most people used to refer to the divine emperor in Rome. Paul sees Jesus as the divine man who comes into his life and tells him what to do – the heavenly king who barks marching orders to the masses. I often refer to God as Lord in my prayers, as I have heard the same from many people over the years. It’s nice to think that if we just release our ownership over our lives, if we just somehow stop making our own judgments and decisions and allow God to make them for us, then everything will be just fine.

 

Of course, this raises a great question – is this what God wants? When we are told to seek to do God’s will does that mean that we should no longer make our own decisions? Does the phrase doing God’s will mean that we surrender our sense of self and hand over the wheel to Jesus?

 

I believe that there is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding this concept. The Urantia Book says that we do not surrender our will to God (1221.6). God does not want us to be without our decision making abilities. Rather the concept is to expand and enhance our will, to create a new and eternal partnership between myself and God (1221.7). God wants our individuality to remain intact. All of us are unique and valued by God. Seeking and doing God’s will creates a new person – a person who partners with God makes wise choices that glorify God in the universe.

 

I find that people have a tendency to bounce between two extremes. On the one hand is the desire to be totally free to do as we wish. To do whatever pops into our head without interference from those around us. There is a problem with this desire for freedom – the people around us. Our activities affect others, affect the environment, and even when we think that we are only affecting ourselves our actions still have a community impact. We are in relationship with our world, and that relationship demands placing limits upon our actions.

 

The other extreme is the desire for the course of our lives to be laid out in advance. There is security and peace of mind in knowing that there is a plan from the almighty for us. And, of course, being told what to do is a comforting and safe way to make decisions. God told me to do it so therefore my actions must be right.

 

The challenge is threading a path between these two ideas. Making free will choices based upon our unique perspective while at the same time limiting our actions in accord with the loftier goal of loving God and loving others. Instead of Jesus taking the wheel, it’s more like one of those cars for driving instructors, we both take the wheel.

 

 

God Bless You,

 

 

William Whitehead

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