The appeal made by the Holy Spirit to each human on Earth is cyclical. A pattern repeats over and over, through an increasingly severe process of prevenient grace that draws us to Christ. But the fudge factor and the massive variable in entire system God has set up is the free will factor. This factor is explosive in it's ability to gum up even the most simple equations within the universal system. It's the equation that just refuses to be balanced or understood. And it affects what we perceive as injustice in the system, though it is simply a highly unfortunate side effect of free will.
The cycle is often experienced as summer, fall, winter, spring. Summer of excitement, celebration, sin, and chaos, experienced in all the highest highs available in evil and self-destruction. Then comes fall, when the highs of sin go from celebration and excitement to increasing levels of pain, confusion, remorse, and sorrow. Then comes the winter. A frozen tundra of emptiness and chaos. Then comes the spring, after the lowest low, rebirth comes, new growth, new hope, and from there the cycle repeats.
This cycle seems to be perpetuated by God through the Earth system to draw people to realize their need for Christ, and to come to Christ. This can occur in any of the regions of the cycle. It can occur in the bright beautiful summer when we notice the beauty of God's creation, or in the fall, as we realize the pleasure has turned destructive. It can often occur in the winter, when we realize the utter emptiness that sin has brought us into. And it can occur in the spring, when the rebirth period begins, we realize the source of it is Christ, and turn to Christ.
The angelic messengers of the Lord seem to have some function in all this. How they impact the cycle exactly I don't know. Demons have a function as well, they seem to attempt to keep the human in the cycle perpetually, boxing Christ out of it, so they continously repeat the cycle unaware of Christ, or scornful of Christ, until death.
The saints have a part to play as well, being instruments of God to break those cycles through battle in prayer, and in loving people lost in the cycle, and in of course witnessing for Christ to that person.
But once again, the fudge factor is free will. No one can force another person to receive Christ. And perhaps the most universal aspect of human nature is our own infinite stubbornness. Often we would rather charge through the very gates of hell itself than admit we were wrong, or needed to change direction.
It's similar to a situation in which a family views an alcoholic or drug addicted family member slowly destroying themselves. The family is absolutely powerless to stop this person. They can grab them, shake them, lock them in the room, hide them away from society, but nothing can stop them from drinking and drugging to the darkest end, ultimately it's their choice.
That's the sacred choice God has given us. The beauty of free will is that we choose our own destiny. The terror of free will is that most do not choose Christ, and instead they choose death.
The cycle repeats over and over, until we turn to Christ, or we don't. Many I see near the end of their lives, and they remain in the repeating loop, unable to quite turn to Christ, or more so, unwilling. Many, deceived by demonic powers, and caught up in traps as well. Many, already turned over to the sins they love, unaware of the judgment awaiting them in the life ahead.
Once someone does turn to Christ, and gives their lives to Christ, and is born again, and receives the Holy Spirit, we begin a new process, called the process of sanctification. Through this process we are slowly conformed into the likeness in character to Christ himself. This process can often at times we cyclical as well, as we repeat "trials" until we accomplish them properly and learn from them. Often times Christians can be caught up and stuck in the cyclical process of sanctification as well, unwilling to go deeper, unwilling to learn a vital truth. And they become stuck in the cyclical reality as well. This is troubling, but not particularly surprising.
For the Christian who continues to grow, trials continue, fiery trials, and difficulties, as well as joys, and blessings, and good times, and beautiful moments. And slowly that Christian is brought into maturity.
The goal of the first cyclical reality is to bring non-believers to realize their need for Christ and make a free will decision to turn to Jesus through the grace of God. The goal of the second cyclical reality of sanctification is for the believer to come to maturity, achieving victory over the flesh, the world, and the devil. Over the flesh in that they've overcome sin in their lives, over the world in that they no longer live for the world or by the world's ways, and the devil, in that the devil has attempted to deceive them and drive them away from Christ, but has failed, and their love and devotion for Christ has been proven through fiery trials and temptations. And a believer who loses those 3 battles will not have eternal life, but will receive damnation, as they have not overcome the flesh, the world, or the devil. Luke-warm Christians will be spit from the mouth of Christ. Hard to misinterpret that statement.
