The Drawing Power

To the grumbler, Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44) In John 21:6, 11 the disciples drew the net, or hauled it in. Get the image of a net being tightened around fish, and then being gently pulled into the boat or onto shore. In John 18:10, Peter drew his sword. It was in a case or tucked into his belt, and he carefully drew it out and promptly cut off an ear. In Acts 16:19, Paul and Silas were dragged into the market and later off to jail. In James 2:6, the rich drag the poor into court. In Acts 21:30, Paul was dragged out of the temple. And in John 12:32, Jesus says, "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself."

The influence, power, force, and work necessary to connect men with God is essentially, primarily, and effectively an act of God Himself. While it is understandable that we want to understand the role man plays in this process, there is a danger in focusing too much on man's part. Though we are ambassadors of reconciliation, it is God Himself who is reconciling the world to Himself. (2 Cor.5) The work of God in drawing mankind is so vast and so timeless how could we think the drawing power is centered in us and our expert abilities to effect lasting, heart changes in another human being. We have a hard time effecting these kind of changes in ourselves. Yet, there is something in us that rebels against the notion that we might be controlled by someone else. We want to maintain our independence and autonomy. Such is an illusion, yet it is important to preserve our freedom of will in this process. 

There are extremes in this discussion. One is pure Calvinism that says man plays no part in being drawn to the Father since 1) man is totally depraved-incapable of any good; 2) God has already determined through unconditional election-predestination-who will be lost and who will be saved. Yet the other extreme relegates God to some bystander in the process, merely a voiceless and powerless sign with a big arrow pointing the way. Neither picture is true. The grumblers in John 6 not only could walk away, but did walk away. However, they did so while feeling the tug of the Spirit of God pulling on their hearts, and no doubt, later winning this tug-of-war for the hearts of some. 

Our question is not whether God draws people to Himself, but how. The gospel has a persuasive power to it. "Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men." (2 Cor.5:11) But, what percentage is our persuasive powers and what percentage is the powerful effect of the fear of the Lord? How do we weight the process? Man has a responsibility not to fight the drawing power of God like some child who kicks and screams while a parent drags them out of harm's way. His power is measured. It is on the right setting. Not too strong to over-power our will, and yet not too soft to make it easy to walk away. Only God knows the right tension for each person.