Free will is often a double-edged sword. You are made with free will AND God-given talents and abilities. There are temptations all around you, pulling in destructive directions under the guise of self-preservation. Ego allows you to argue with your spouse, rather than humbly admit you don’t have all the answers. Fear permits you to hide behind alcohol or food or numb you through the self-propulsion of over-working instead of intentionally being God-relient. In this parable from Matthew, notice the correlation between us and the two plants that will be harvested.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weed come from?’
‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
The servant asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
‘No’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvester; first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn’. – Matthew 13:24-30

The beauty of free will is that when partnered with the grace of God through Jesus, you can turn away from the self-destruction and self-propulsion. The opportunity is in you. Accepting Jesus means you have a brand new day everyday to make better choices and choose between the weeds and the wheat…as long as you follow a few simple guidelines:

Pray.Humble yourself before God and admit YOU don’t have all the answers.

Do. Doing service either at your job or volunteering provides an opportunity to focus on others so you are less-inclined to despair into self-pity.

Rest. No T.V. No radio. No computer. No iPad. No phone. Try it for five minutes and see that God has a word for you.

We all get harvested in the end. Will you be wheat or will you be weed?