The Amazing and Terrifying Power of the Human Will

by Deacon Mark Danis | December 5, 2023 12:05 am

God invited us to work in His vineyard in order for us to fulfill our purpose in this life, and the works of prayer, charity, sacrifice and practicing the virtues are our means of giving life to our faith in The Father’s gift.

If there is one thing many individuals have forgotten, it is the absolutely remarkable power of the human will. The will of man is the source of every great accomplishment throughout human history. Too many individuals have neglected their own capacity to change their lives.

The power of the human will built the pyramids, it started and ended wars, it drove men to write the great symphonies, it inspired men and women to invent the medicines that have helped eradicate many diseases; the human will has an incredible and also frightening capacity for determining the course of human events. It can also determine our individual destiny.

Terrifying and frightening may not be words we normally associate with the will of man. But, as indicated, the will of man also continues to be the source of incredible destruction throughout history. It is the will of man that perpetuates the horror of war, including a war on the womb.

Of course, we know God ultimately controls the course of history, and so we leave the eternal fate of every human soul in His hands

But what about our capacity for determining the fate of our own soul? What power do we have to influence our own final destiny?

The truth is each and every individual influences his or her ultimate destiny every day. We do this through the decisions we make and the actions we undertake as a result of our decisions.

“What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he repented and went. And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.
– Matthew 21:28-32

The first son represents those who have wandered through their early life rather selfishly and perhaps even sinfully. But ultimately, these individuals experience a conversion of heart and turn their lives around and go to work in the vineyard.

The second son represents those who may have had the best of intentions and may even believe themselves to be righteous persons, but, like many these days, they refuse to accept the Father’s invitation to go and work in the vineyard.

The terrifying and frightening truth of this Scripture verse is that it makes clear that, although God has invited all of us to go out and work in the vineyard, not all of us will accept the invitation, even if we have told God and ourselves that we actually will respond to His call.

Beyond having lost our knowledge of the capacity of the human will, modern man has also forgotten the truly terrifying reality of the will’s capacity to lead us to our own destruction.

Too many in our society have become ignorant of, or indifferent to, the fact that we create our own destiny every day, by virtue of the decisions we make. And, as the Scripture verse makes clear, it does not matter what work we say we will do, it matters what work we actually do.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done.
– Revelation 20:12

There is less and less appreciation in our modern world for the Biblical reality of what we human beings were created for. We were created for one thing, to bring Glory to God, and to fulfill the unique and specific purpose He planned for us in this life. This is a remarkable gift, and we receive it by doing the work God called us to do.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
– Ephesians 2:10

Now we should not misunderstand this passage. This does not mean that we work our way to heaven. Our eternal salvation is a gift, but like any gift, we must receive it and open it. We receive it in faith, and we open it through the good works we do.

So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
– James 2:17

This week, let us pray that we will take seriously the call to work in the vineyard, for whatever time we may remaining.

Image credit: Photo by Flo P[1] on Unsplash[2]

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Endnotes:

Flo P: https://unsplash.com/@nattyflo?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText
Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/lt5mTsVgHIc?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText

Source URL: https://integratedcatholiclife.org/2023/12/danis-the-amazing-and-terrifying-power-of-the-human-will/