Your Future, Your Choice
Do you really have a choice in what your future will be? Some people believe that fate or predestination, not personal choice, control their life. When they fail to reach certain goals, they simply shrug it off as inevitable. “It was never meant to be” they say.
Others become disillusioned when they see no way out of this oppressive and unjust world in which we live. They may have tried to make their lives better -on,y to see things like crime, natural disasters, and sickness wreck their plans time and time again. Why bother? They ask themselves.
It is true that circumstances in life can seriously affect our plans (Ecclesiastes 9:11). However, when it comes to your ultimate destiny, you have a very real choice. In fact, the Bible shows that your future depends on your choice. Consider this,
Moses, the leader of the ancient nation of Israel, told the people as they were about to enter the promised land, “I have put life and death before you, the blessing and the curse; and you must choose life so that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving Jehovah your God, by listening to His voice, and sticking by Him” -Deuteronomy 30: 15; 19, 20.
“I have put life and death before you, the blessing and the curse; and got must choose life“ -Deuteronomy 30:19.
God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and put before them the prospect of a free and happy life in the promised land. But all that would not come upon them automatically. To gain those blessings, the had to “choose life.” How? By loving God, by listening to His voice, by sticking to Him.
Today is no different, the choice is put before you, and how you choose will determine what your future will be. If you choose life, life everlasting on a paradise earth. If you choose death you will be cursed. It seems to be an easy choice.
But what is involved in choosing God?
Love is God’s primary attribute. “God is love.” For this reason, when Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, He said “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” -Matthew 22:37.
A real relationship with God must be based, not on fear or blind obedience, but on love. Why? Though, should we choose to love Him?
God’s love for mankind is like that of loving parents for their children. Though imperfect, loving parents instruct, encourage, support, and discipline their children they want them to be happy and to flourish. In turn they want their children to live them and take to heart what their parents have imparted to them for their good. Is it not reasonable that our perfect Heavenly Father expects us to show loving appreciation for all that He has done for us?
In the original language of the Bible, the word ‘listen’ often carries the sense of obedience. Is that not what we ran when we say to a child, Listen to your parents?” Then to listen to God’s voice implies learning and obeying what God says. Since we cannot hear God’s voice audibly, we listen to Him by reading and applying what is in His Word (1 John 5:3).
To show the importance of listening to God’s voice, on one occasion Jesus said, “Man must not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” -Matthew 4:4. As important as physical food is to us, taking in knowledge of God is, in fact, even more so. King Solomon explained that “Wisdom is protection just as money is protection, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner” – Ecclesiastes 7:12). Knowledge and wisdom from God can protect us today and help us to make the wise choice that leaf’s to everlasting life in the future.
When we recall Jesus’s illustration in which He said: “Narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it. Traveling on such a road, we would surely benefit from having and staying close to an expert guide if we wanted to reach our destination -everlasting life. There is good reason for you to stay close to God.
Every day, there are many things that we must do and many things that we would like to do. Such things can keep us so distracted that we have little or no time to consider what God wants us to do. That is why we need to be reminded to keep strict watch on how we walk not as unwise but as wise people, making the best use of our time, because the data are wicked ( Ephesians 5:15-16). We stay close to God by making our relationship with Him the most important thing in our life -Matthew 6:33.
There is nothing we can do to change our path, we can choose to secure a fine future for ourselves and our loved one’s. The Bible reveals that our Heavenly Father deep,y loves us and the He let us know what He would like to see us do.
“He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” – Micah 6:8.
When you accept God’s invitation to walk with Him you will gain the eternal blessings He has in store for you. Do you choose life or death?
From Pity to Praise 