From the moment we wake up in the morning, till the moment we rest our head, we are bombarded with choices. Will we stay in bed, or will we start our day? Do I have time to eat, or should I just take my shower? Should I go to work, or call off? Do these jeans make me look fat? This is not really a choice, but you get my point. We continue to make choices through-out our entire day. Its hard to go even a couple minutes, with out making some kind of decision. Over time, the choices we make tend to synthesize our make-up as a single human-being. One big decision leading to another. It gives us a kind of character, substance.
The funny thing about choices, is that once your faced with one, you can’t NOT make a choice. Think about it. If you have the choice to try shrimp, or not to try it. Or if your boss gives you an assinment, and you have the choice to do, or to not do it. You can’t say, “I choose option C”. There is no option C!! You either do, or you don’t. You can’t not do either because what will happen is you’ll end up doing one or the other. How is it that we can be constrained into these situations. Most of the time, we would rather not make a choice, but once it’s presented, theres no hiding from it, cause even by doing nothing, you would have already made your choice.
Choices for the most part are essentially two ‘ways’, or two ‘paths’.
Two. Options.
It seems the most important choices in our lives come in this form, and they often showcase our deepest intentions. They cut to the core of us, because when we have no choice but to choose; we show ourselves true.*
These ‘dual options” can be narrowed down into two ‘catagories’ so to speak. When we’re faced with a ‘dual option’, what you’ll find is the Long term, and the Short term choice. For exsample, in the option of not eating breakfast. The short term choice would be to skip the meal, which we all know will mess with our metabolism for the day, which often slows us down(makes us fat). So obviously the long term choice is to eat breakfast. Quite simply, the long term choice, is more gratifying in the long run. If you choose to write a book, instead of sleeping in all day, guess what the long term choice is? Because getting drunk might seem like a good idea at the moment(short term), but the long term repercutions could be quite harmfull. Long term choice, would obviously be the healthier aproach. I believe Long term decisions have a way of gratifying the human spirit. This Long term choice is essential to who we are as spiritual beings. Our spirits, are of that of Gods spirit, not bound by space and time. It is our inermost being. Our ‘true self’. It lives not for the moment. It simply is. The word says God breathed the breath of LIFE into adam. This is the indication of the spirit. So if the spirit God gives is life, I wonder what death is?
The absence of Gods spirit in us?
The most momentous choice made in human history, can be found in the book of Genesis. We all know the story. The fall of man kind right? Yet most would be mistaken as to when the first choice was presented. What God gives Adam and Eve, in the garden of eden at first, is NOT a choice. He give them a command, a direction…
A path.
One option. ‘You may eat of any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for you will surely die”. He did not say, ‘OR you can eat from the tree of good and evil. No! You must not! No options here, and this seemed easy enough for them. Until they were presented with another option.
Two options, two paths, one choice.
You know the story, Eve runs into the serpent, the serpent tells her she will be like God in that she will know right from wrong. She eats it gives it to Adam, they find out they’re naked, they run from God, their kids never get along. It’s just one big tragic spiral effect. Like others, you’ve probably asked. Why? Why did God put that tree there? Right in the middle of the garden where they could easily run into it? And why did God let that serpent trick that poor woman into eating the fruit? Why was it a tree of the knowledge of good and evil? If he knew we would fall, why would he put it there? Dosen’t God know all things? Why, why, WHY?!?!?
I would tell you that you answerd your own quetion. Listen…
God is not looking for a substance-less heart.
He’s not looking for blind devotion.
He doesn’t want concise worship.
It would not be authentic, it would not be real.
What happend when they ate the fruit is, that they made the choice, to choose. Just having the knowledge of good and evil is not enough. God wants to know, we’re still on his path. The path of life. Spiritual life that last now and forever.
Because God knew we would fall. Yet because he is a just and rightious God, he gave us the right path, yet God even uses evil for his divine purpose. Evil is not some ravenous being who’s wild and can take you down by force, No, he’s just a voice, another option. Cause its all about choice. We needed to know about good and bad. Cause God wants to be sure that even though, you could choose yourself, you could choose casual sex, you could choose drugs, and alcohol, you could choose momentary pleasure(short term), you could choose a dead relationship, you could choose fame and money. We could choose all this stuff we cherish…..
Yet..
That we would still..
Choose…
Him…..
That has meaning
That has depth
It shows our true self
God wants to take us from the pain that self pleasure brings. He wants us to understand a life of sorrow, a dead life; so we could further appreciate a life of freedom. True freedom in him. You know how it feels when you accomplish something you’ve been putting off for awhile, you feel worry-less, without stress, free. God gave us this gift in a grand scale, and he did this over and over in history, until he sealed the deal with the death of Jesus. Who became sin, and destroyed death.
A second chance.
Yet its still about choice.
You make them every day. And God loved us SO MUCH. That he gave us the right, to choose him. God deserves to be chosen. He gives us the chance, everyday. If there is anything you learn from this, please take this:
The BEST choice you could ever make, is the one that allows you to continue to make other choices.
Thats what its about, God just wants us to see the freedom we recive in him. We are spiritual beings, who make long term choices, cause we’re not from this world. We were all made to know, and love as God does. Cause God is love! And though we slip and fall, make the wrong choices, trip over the same hurdles over and over again. God hears the cry of the opressed, and he sees the hearts of the condemed; and he will always set them free, but its in your strongest moments where your choices count the most.
What are you doing with your life. Are you on the path that God gave us through Jesus christ, a beautifal life of total dependancey on God through selflessness? Or are you still living for the short term events that plague your spirit? Giving a sence of plaesure yet ultimatly leaving you feeling empty, day..
after day,
after day.
The choice is yours. Though I think the way is clear.
Choose HIM..
-Andre
