Making a Choice and Choosing a Path

We met at the park in Blue Springs recently for a political meeting. In the midst of chatting as we waited for the meeting to begin, someone noticed that the fire pit area under the pergola had been vandalized. 

It hurt my heart to see such a mess. What was the point? Nothing but destruction.

Several of us hurried over to straighten it up and repair the damage. "Who would do this?" someone asked. We didn't know, but a verse came to mind. "The enemy comes only to steal, kill, and destroy..." 

It took a while, but we managed to straighten everything back up, rebuild the fire pit, and re-stack the wood. 

It was easy to recognize the destruction that resulted from the vandal's decision. What's not as easy to recognize is that we constantly face decisions with the potential for devastating consequences somewhere down the line. 

The first taste of alcohol that leads to a lifelong struggle with alcoholism...

The everyone's-doing-it choice that leads to unimaginable pain and suffering... 

Even something as simple as a "cheat" on our diets, repeated over time, can lead to undesired health consequences, one cookie, one serving of fried food at a time.

I love the NLT translation of John 10:10: "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." 

Jesus' desire is to give us a life of abundance and joy, but we only have it if we choose it. The problem, of course, is that having the life Jesus promised requires more than one decision. 

We gain our lives one choice at a time, and every decision has a down-the-road consequence. If we could only see where they would lead, perhaps we would choose differently. 

Today, we will have many choices, all of which have potential outcomes, so let's choose well. Life or death. Joy or destruction. The path is clear. The direction we follow is up to us.

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post:Why We Need to Stop Doing Nothing

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