The Gift of Choice
Let me tell you the interesting story of two brothers John and David, that grew up in Scotland. They grew up together and received the same education and instruction. Both had the same Christian upbringing. John chose a business route, he lived a life of luxury and died one of the wealthiest men in Ontario. David, after 33 years of toil and travel, fighting tropical diseases and continual exposure to wild animals and savage people, died in an African hut in 1873. When John died there was a brief note in the obituary column of the newspaper, but when his brother David Livingstone died he was laid to rest in honour in Westminster Abbey. The choices we make in life radically change the direction of our lives. For some this choice results in a heavy load as it did for David Livingstone, but amazingly fruitful. For some choice is thrust upon us and what happens next depends on how we decide to react or respond!
Let’s look at Luke 23:6-43 (NIV) The Crucifixion of Jesus
26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 …….
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the Jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Four people bore crosses on that first Good Friday and four very different choices to make!
The first was Simon of Cyrene. He was forced to carry Christ’s cross. He had no choice in the matter. Sometimes life is like that. Situations or circumstances are forced upon us and we really have no choice in the matter. It can be a real challenge in just accepting that fact that especially since we have done everything we possibly can to resolve, avoid or prevent this, still we have to bear that cross. It’s just not working out how you planned. He did not choose this cross, it was “compelled” upon him.
The second man to bear a cross was the angry and mocking thief. He seemed very bitter. His was a cross of anger. He had what some would call a victim mentality and he was hitting out in the only way he could. He blamed Jesus for not saving Himself and them. He died blaming everybody but himself. This is a pride issue which says I deserve better than this, and I’m going to fight to get it. The opposite of this might be humility and repentance. We have this choice in life to either accept or reject the Word of God. He chose to reject it, and reacted accordingly
The third man to bear a cross was the thief that saw the bigger picture. He showed humility and repentance and he looked beyond the circumstances and the pain to see that Jesus really was King. His cross had meaning – it began in pain and ended in peace. His circumstances were dire, one could say terminal, but he chose in those last moments the path of life!
The last cross was that of Jesus – a chosen cross. The rest were involuntary – His was voluntary. He could have avoided it by calling upon His Father to send 12 legions of angels to defend Him but instead, He willingly made that choice and stretched out His hands to receive the nails of the cross and, by doing so, showed us the greatest love of all. He chose the cross. This is the cross we should choose. An accepting cross, a sacrificial cross, a serving cross.
Four different crosses but they cover the range of our response to life and what it throws at us. Just prior to being arrested and crucified Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives and prays:
Luke 22:39-43 New International Version (NIV)
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43
I have spent some time thinking about what this world would be like if Jesus had decided to flee from this certain pain and suffering and perhaps flee to Egypt. (Remember His family did this when He was a child, when Herod was searching to kill Him). He would have had more time to preach, to reach the lost, and wait for the Romans to have a change of heart. But if He had done this the world as we know it would be unrecognisable. Our laws would be different, our relationships would be different, our fellowship would not exist, our tolerance would be different our outlook on life would be different, our standards would be different. But the Father knew there was only one way for the redemption of mankind, and Jesus knew the will of the Father. And He chose out of His own free will the route the Father had chosen. It was not forced upon Jesus. He chose. And His choice changed the world!
And so I would like to look at the implications of this God given gift of being able to choose, to make decisions, this gift of free will, a little bit closer. And as we do this keep in mind that like the other three persons that had to bear the cross in Golgotha, we may not have the choice to be in certain situations, but we all have a choice in how to respond to the forces of life that push in on us. And as Deuteronomy 30:15 says I have set before you today life and death, choose life!
And in doing so I have been thinking of some of the difficult and trying circumstances some in our church have or are going through… thinking of when Glen broke his leg and was so restricted at home, John waiting for this hip op, others who have various kinds of sickness and diseases, or various circumstances of our family, that has at times been so challenging.
And I was reminded of that saying in Isaiah
In repentance and rest is your salvation, In quietness and trust is your strength
When there is no more you can do……when that cross is heavy, …. We can make that choice to rest in God , …..to come to him with a quietness, …..and to come to Him in trust. These are choices that lead to life
How we decide what to do in various circumstances and how to respond can be challenging, but I will never forget the response of a Mr Horatio Spafford:
He was an attorney in Chicago in the 1800’s. A wealthy man with a wife and 4 daughters. One year it was decided that Mrs Spafford and his 4 daughters would visit Europe. He took them to the seaport and saw them on board and waved them off. Unfortunately the ship collided with another ship mid-Atlantic and all 4 daughters were drowned. His wife was saved and when she landed in France sent a telegram back home to Mr Spafford which read” All is lost, I remain alone, what shall I do”
Meantime Mr Spafford bank had crashed and he had lost his wealth and his possessions. And his response was to write this hymn
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well; it is well with my soul
What a Christ like decision to make! But the decision he made in responding to what life threw at him, has impacted generations
But its not so much in these major events that I want to bring your attention t. In everyday situations we are continually making choices that lead either to life or choices that lead to death (figuratively speaking). Choices that either draw us closer to God or decisions that move us further from God. Choices that help us to grow and are beneficial to us (or others), or choices that add no value or simply just kill time. The choice is always ours, we have a free will! Animals react by instinct, but humans by free will. Free will and our freedom to make decisions, choose our path is an amazing God given attribute and has far reaching implications in our everyday life. Let’s look as a few major implications of us having free will:
Love. No real need to expand this, suffice to say that without free will can love exist? And this is exemplified by what Jesus did on the cross. Withou free will even the significance of what Jesus did on the cross would change!
God speaking to us audibly. I have often said to Di, I wish God would just audibly speak to me and tell me what I should do sometimes. But if God did that we would not have choice, we would not make decisions on our own, we would lose our free will, to choose, we would never grow and we could never have a deep relationship with a loving Father. Life would be a bit robotic!
Disasters that happen; Free will means that people are able to make independent decisions and that means they can make bad decisions or untimely decisions and accidents happen people get hurt and people die. Free will is given within the boundaries of natural laws and time. Exceeding those boundaries has natural consequences. Let’s not be the angry thief and blame or mock God when disasters happen in our lives!
Personal growth. I love the analogy of a father teaching his child to ride a bike. For a while the father holds on to the saddle as the child gets his balance and stabilises the bike, but eventually the father lets go the bike and allows the child to cycle on his own. For the child a huge sense of achievement and independence! For us to grow, our Father in heaven has to let go of the saddle and give us that freedom. And guess what sometimes we fall and there is pain, but that does not mean that the Father is not there and watching! How else will we grow and learn and achieve anything
So free will is something very special! I was recently reading an article by a Rabbi and he was saying that as amazing a gift that free will is, there is a greater gift, and that is the fact that God has told us about this gift. The analogy is one of a homeless man with his shopping trolley of all his belongings doing it tough on the streets, living on the street corners. One day you hide at the bottom of his trolley an old paper bag containing a million dollars and you don’t tell him about it. He has this great gift that can change his life but he does not use it! The difference is we have been told of this gift! And as it says in Deuteronomy its more than choosing just between good and evil, it’s choosing between life and death!
He goes on to warn about the dangers of making choices that have no real value, but rob us of our time, that give us a feeling of doing something useful. That stifles our growth and creativity such as excessive or habitual social media interactions such as Facebook etc, computer web surfing, channel surfing, on line TV etc. We have the choice, we can either chew gum, or get some wholesome food into us! Small everyday choices make a big differences, like springs in the mountains that become rivers on the plains.
Let’s look at a few life choices we can make:
1. We can choose to be thankful. We have heard this so many times before, let it not just wash over us. Benjamin Weir a missionary in Lebanon was imprisoned in terrible conditions for 16 months. In his first interview, after release he was asked how he dealt with despair. And he said “I just counted my blessings” The reporters were stunned and said what blessings.” Some days I got to take a shower, sometimes there were vegetables in my food and I could always be thankful for the love of my family” Thankfulness has such restorative benefits, it heals relationships, breaks the curse of comparisons and acknowledges the power of God in your life.
2. We can choose the direction we want our life to take. It’s been said that “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it’s a matter of choice, it’s not a thing to be waited for” - it’s something to attain! (Bryan 1860)
Philippians 2:12 (NIV) says12 Therefore, my dear friends, ……..—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”
So the race is not over, let’s not stop working and thinking about our end goal, the route we are going to take and how we are going to tackle it, keeping our final destiny in mind.
Remember that hymn
I have a destiny I know I shall fulfil;
I have a destiny in that city on a hill.
I have a destiny and it's not an empty wish,
for I know I was born for such a time as this.
3. We can choose with humbleness to accept the cross(es) that we have to bear. Let us choose to do it with the same attitude as Job… “Though He slay me yet will I trust Him”. And as we commit our ways and trials to the Lord and though it may be difficult let us learn to trust and rest in the salvation of our Lord.
Then in closing remember small decisions or choices can make big differences
In Kosovo there is a beautiful mountain range called the Nerodimka Mountains. There is a point in the mountains at which the waters separate. It would not seem to matter much whether a drop of water goes to the left or to the right. But the outcome of those drops of water is totally different. One drop goes to the east and eventually flows into the Danube River and empties into the Black Sea. Another drop goes more south until it flows into the Vardar River and goes into the Aegean Sea. Two drops of water, two entirely different destinations, but one small turning point that determines the outcome and very different paths!
But no matter what decisions we have made in the past
Isaiah 43:18-19 says
18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
We have a very special God given gift that we need to recognize that we have, that is worth more than we can imagine that we have to unwrap that gift with care and tenderness and use it to the best of our ability. The gift of making decisions that make a difference to our lives!