so then we pursue the things which

One of the things every American needs to experience in his/her life is a ride through Manhattan in a NYC cab. It's more frantic than a roller coaster, riskier than bungee jumping, and yet as controlled as a pilot navigating a plane through severe turbulence.

Part of the experience I'd recommend would also be riding into the city via the Lincoln tunnel. Eight or ten toll lanes merge into two, a sight to behold. And this isn't polite turn-taking merging. No, this is aggressive, fight-for-each-inch maneuvering. And yet, while each cab is fighting other cabs and cars services and random drivers as forcefully as possible, there is this interplay and set of understood rules about what happens when one bumper is a millimeter ahead of another and who has won each minor skirmish over an inch of space.

Thinking about this interplay of cars all directed toward the tunnel this evening, and thought of that as a good analogy for our walks. The cab you are in represents your will. The other cabs and cars represent the other impulses and desires in your life that run up against your faith. The tunnel represents your eventual outcome conformed to God's will. Some folks have issues with an omniscient Shepherd controlling our futures, but those arguments are false ones meant to appease wills bent on disobedience.

Now at any time, you can simply tell the cabbie to stop and pull over, not enter the tunnel. So again, free will not the issue here. The issue is your will. It runs up against other forces constantly. And how skillfully you navigate those issues determines how quickly you will reach that end destination. And quite often those other forces will win those minor skirmishes no matter how hard you try to win. The important thing is that you are trying to get there, trying hard to get there, aggressively fighting for those inches in an effort to get there. It matters how badly you want to get there. Because, end of the day, the only one who desires your arrival more than you do is the Lord.