“He answered, ‘He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.’ Judas, who would betray him, answered, ‘Is it I, Rabbi?’ He said to him, ‘You have said so.'” – Matthew 26:23-25
Here is a question I am asked every Easter. Since Christ had to go to the cross in order to fulfill His mission on earth, wasn’t Judas simply fulfilling the will of God? Wasn’t God using him as a tool to get Jesus to the cross?
Well, no and no. Even though God had His predetermined plan and knew what Judas was going to do, He did not force him to do it! Judas still had a choice, and he chose to betray Jesus. I realize there’s a lot of discussion about Calvinism and free will. And, though it’s sometimes difficult to reconcile the theology, understand this: All of us have a choice. Yes, God does have a predestined plan for our life. But realize that there is no sin in that plan. We choose whether to accept or reject His plan by inviting sin into the equation. And, while God does know what our choices will be, that does not mean He forces us to make them.
The best thing we can do is to constantly seek God’s will in our lives, asking Him to show us what His perfect plan is for us each and every day.
