Choice

                          

Last month, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States again. Since then, the country has been in turmoil. He’s implemented many new policies and orders that have impacted a lot of people in the nation and abroad. Of course, those who voted against him are unhappy with what he’s doing. On the other hand, many of those who voted for him continue to support him and his efforts. Some of his supporters and people who did not vote might now regret their actions. They see the direction the country is going and are feeling like they made the wrong choice, be it voting for Trump or choosing not to vote at all.

Whether you like Trump or not, we all knew what we were getting with him as president. He’s been in that position before. When he campaigned this time around, he was clear with his messaging and intentions. He’s now doing exactly what he said he would. The majority of American voters opted to put him back in charge. As a nation, we’re getting what we asked for. We all had a choice, and choices have consequences.

Christians should understand that concept better than anyone. At its core, the Bible, from beginning to end, is all about choice. Original sin came down to choice. Eve was given an option to either obey God or listen to the serpent’s instructions. She chose the latter. Adam had the choice to go along with his wife’s bad action or obey God. He too made the wrong choice. The consequences of their choices were harsh. They were kicked out of paradise and burdened in ways that still impact us to this day (Genesis 3).

Abraham had a choice. Unlike Adam and Eve, he chose to obey God even when God’s instructions were to sacrifice his son, something far worse than being forbidden to eat a particular fruit. God rewarded Abraham for that choice. God chose Abraham’s descendants to be His people (Genesis 22:1-19).

One would think that a people favored by God would consistently choose to obey him and act in accordance with His will. That’s not what happened though. Most of the Old Testament boils down to a cycle played out over and over again. God showed the Israelites favor. They thrived and eventually forgot God’s role in their success. They chose to disobey God and break his commandments. God punished them. They cried out to him. He forgave them and showed them favor. Rinse and repeat.

That cycle played out over and over again. The same thing happens today. We humans never seem to learn from our mistakes. The same greed, bigotry, and moral decline that we see in societies across the globe today have popped up throughout our history. We’ve shown glimpses of understanding that there is a better way, but we always choose to go down the wrong path.

Well, we’re not the only ones that have choices. God does too. When he regretted making humanity, he had the choice to wipe us all out. He didn’t do that. Instead, he saved Noah and his family and charged them with restarting humanity (Genesis 6:1-9:17). When the Israelites refused to do right, God could have chosen to abandon them. He didn’t do that either. Instead, he sent prophets to let them know that a change would come (Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-7).

God chose to send His son to Earth in human form. He chose to have Jesus live amongst us and experience life as one of us. God’s plan for Jesus involved subjecting His son to pain, misery, and torment. When the Son asked the Father to find another way, the Father chose not to grant his son’s request. Instead, Jesus had to bear the wages of our sin – death. God chose to make the very sacrifice that he spared Abraham.

That’s the Gospel, and the Gospel comes down to one more choice – the most important choice. Jesus’ story didn’t end with his death. He rose from the grave and brought with him the key to our salvation.

For God so loved the world, he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

All we have to do is choose to believe in Jesus, and we receive salvation. Seems like an easy choice one that every person gets to make for his or herself. If you are a Believer, that means you’ve made your choice. Eternity with the Father awaits you after this life. Before you get there, you still have work to do down here. There are some who don’t understand they have a choice, and others that need help making the right choice. If God chose us, the least we can do is let the rest of the world know that they too can choose Him. Unlike with national elections, no one will regret choosing the Lord.

Chris Lawyer