We all make choices every day. Some are life changing and some are so miniscule as to make no seeming difference in our lives. Either way making choices is a big part of our lives and very important. Do I choose to stop at the stop sign and look both ways before proceeding? Do I choose to brush my teeth in the morning before going out in public? Do I choose to respond in a loving manner or a nasty manner when someone crosses me?
Choices are not only important for me but choices affect other people. I remember Nick (not his real name). He was 18 at the time and had endured a life of terrible abuse at the hands of the person he should have been able to trust the most… his father. I had just gotten to know him only months after he had stood atop the fourth floor of a parking garage, determined to take his life by throwing himself backwards. He chose to die, but ended up making the choice for his family to now take care of a quadriplegic.
Certain choices I make cause others to make choices as a result. If I choose to play my trumpet outside on my neighbours front lawn at one in the morning, they could choose to respond… somehow.
Not making choices also affects others as well. Have you ever stood 4 deep in a line up at McDonalds and when it finally comes to the person in front of you, they act as though they have never been there before? Like as though McDonald’s has changed its menu in any great way since the last time they were there. They’ve been standing in line with the menu fully out displayed – in case they needed a reminder – and they still can’t seem to make a choice in a reasonable amount of time.
All choice consists of is the mental process of judging the merits of a few options and then selecting one or more of those options. Big Mac and a Large fry, done! I’m so glad I have a choice to use the self-serve kiosk nowadays.
Choices are important, but it seems as if most people meander through life as though they weren’t when it comes to the choices that matter the most – the ones that relate to eternity. It’s interesting to me how the average person puts an amazing amount of planning and strategic thought into their next weekend camping trip and barely give eternity a passing glance. So, while we do understand that making choices is probably important, we sometimes need to be reminded to make the right choices.
While growing up my father continually challenged me to make right choices and as a dad I do the same with my kids, understanding that I can’t force them to choose well. Our heavenly father won’t force us to make right choices either, but he presents us with the choices of a lifetime, such as to follow Jesus or treat him as a curiosity, to live in obedience and be a part of his plan or choose to live the Christian life by osmosis and miss out on the abundant life promised.
“Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that He was doing, they came to Him. And He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him because of the crowd, lest they crush Him, for He had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And He strictly ordered them not to make Him known.” – Mark 3:7-12
The people’s choice resulted in a broken relationship with God and so ended up on the wrong side of history
This is a period of time in which there is no medical care, and no real healing by the medical arts. This is a difficult world; life expectancy is short. The people came from all over the countryside because they heard of all that he was doing.
No one denies the miracles, they all affirm the miracles. No one denies that he had power over the kingdom of darkness, over the agents of hell and still they reject Jesus. Interesting…
No one tries to dismiss Jesus as a fraud ever, no one, not even any of their leaders. His miracles are daily and they’re public. They are undeniable testimony and evidence of his deity, yet in the end they will scream for his blood and say, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”
And so, the people make the choice to reject him because they want the miracles, never the gospel. They choose to see Jesus as a provider of needs rather than the Lord of their lives. Instead of “Dying to Know Him”, it’s more likely they’d ‘kill’ to get something from him.
They thought that they were on the right side of history and that Jesus’ way was the wrong choice, that his movement would soon be forgotten. They were so comfortable in the place where they were that they made their choice thinking their way was the right and better one, and though it was the popular choice, it cost – big time. They lost their chance to be restored to God in a right relationship and ended up on the wrong side of history.
The Disciple’s choice resulted in a renewed relationship, ending up on the right side of history
After a while Jesus goes up a mountainside away from the crowds choosing to take with him just those who are his closest followers. Here’s the interesting part of the choices made that day. First off Jesus’ choice of such a motley crew and then secondly the choice of the disciples to accept Jesus’ offer.
We get a bit of insight into what Jesus’ plan was and why he chose such ordinary guys from Paul. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18-20
God never does things by guess and by golly. He chose on purpose the lowest of the low, the foolish and the weak, the lowest of this world, the no-births, the insignificants, those who others don’t even notice.
As far as the world was concerned, these twelve followers of Jesus’ didn’t even exist. They certainly didn’t matter to the religious establishment of Israel. In fact, the elite looked at them and said, “What in the world is this, these untrained, uneducated, unskilled people from Galilee?” And the only explanation they could give for what power they had was that they had been with Jesus. That was always going to be the explanation. They were never the explanation, Jesus was always the explanation.
We’re not the explanation – ever, Jesus is always the explanation. Truth is that you could never find the secret formula to what’s going on in the Kingdom by looking at the people. You have to look at the power and that comes from Jesus. However, the thing we can do is choose to get to know Jesus so much, so intimately, that the power flows through us.
How do we do this? By surrendering every part of our life to God, to the Holy Spirit’s power to change us. The Disciples made their choice, choosing to surrender… everything, including their personal agendas, their very lives to make Jesus known. And God used them to turn the world upside down and changed history. They were among those who ended up on the right side of history.
What side of history will you find yourself?
How about us? What choices do we make? We live in a pretty dark world right now. Shootings in high schools, gunmen hiding in hotel rooms killing people on the streets, wars and rumours of wars, changing environments, sexual abuses and political unrest… I could go on but I think we all get it. Life isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse.
It also is becoming increasingly clear that the ‘popular’ direction of culture goes against the way of Jesus. In view of this, do we allow ourselves to follow the status quo, or get filled with anxiety or anger or fear? And do we play the blame game? “It’s the millennials fault”, or “It’s the government’s fault”, or “If everyone else just smartened up”. But have we thought about the choices we, ourselves make about our stand for Jesus?
Would be accused of being sold out for him like the disciples were or are we so focused on our next ‘camping trip’ or making sure we plan to get out and watch that next blockbuster movie, or plan for the upcoming hockey tournament or family event, wrapping ourselves up so much so that we don’t give eternal choices more than a passing thought?
I am in no way condemning a hockey tournament, or a good movie or a family potluck… I for one, am planning on seeing the Black Panther on the big screen and as for potluck – sign me up, but I guess I’m wondering if we’re more like the folks in Jesus day looking for and believing that Jesus is more about comfort and what I can get out of him and less concerned about being sold out for him, especially if it’s unpopular.
We have a choice to make. Will it be like the nation of Israel who rejected the messiah after he had been revealed to them, choosing rather to see Jesus simply as someone or something to satisfy their own wants, desires and needs? Or will your choice be on the right side of history and like the disciples choose to Go… every day and in every way, forgoing comforts, popularity and even great plans – giving their very lives – dramatically different than their neighbours?
The world is claiming that it is ‘they’ who are on the right side of history. There are comments being made that say that we are out of step and that Jesus’ way is becoming obsolete. Christians are called homophobic, unscientific, old fashioned, bigots and backward thinkers. Be that as it may, I believe that we are in a day and a time where God’s people must forgo our ‘comforts’ and make a choice about what side of history to be on.
We need to take a deep look at our lives and ask whether or not we are living in such a way and making choices that cause us to be accused of being with Jesus. Are our lives so dramatically different than the world around us that people can’t help but see that we’ve been with him?
The question we must ask ourselves is whether we’re too comfortable with where we are or will we make the right choices – living dramatically different than the world around us?
