By REV. DR. BRIAN GIGEE
“ON DECISION: making good ones!”
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” -Joshua 24:15
There is an old saying that reminds us ‘life is full of choices.’ I think it’s a good saying. At one time in history this kind of a saying was used to remind folks that they didn’t have to be stuck in whatever rut they thought they were in and was spoken to help them forge out their future. But, when I hear the saying, ‘life is full of choices,’ I get a little antsy because we all now live in the time where there are so many choices that if we sat to ponder them, we would have little time for any kind of life at all.
And while any of us takes time to consider the choices in life, we must also consider the notion that we do have a certain decision-making ability that impacts the lives of others and at the same time those same others have the power to decide some things about our lives. This is oh so true when it comes to the decisions we make about the ones we seem to care about and love the most…our parents, and our very own brothers and sisters.
In all of life, I can choose the kind of clothes I wear, the kind of car I drive, the food I’ll order off the menu and when and where I want to spend my vacation. But I never had any role in picking my parents or brother or sisters and just for the record, neither did they when it came to their choosing me!
And that’s why I’m so crazy about God! I’ve chosen to follow. I’ve decided to be a disciple and offer the very best of my life for the one who wants the very best for me… and yet I can only do this because God has first chosen me! God decided that I was going to belong to him long before I chose to belong to God’s family and that’s a big thing when we really sit and think about it.
For decades, I’ve held within me a couple of good foundational attitudes that help…
- I believe that God has created me and all that exists! I have worth, value and purpose… just like everyone else…
And there’s more…
- My quality of life is not determined by the things that happen to me, but by my response to those things and my faith in Jesus Christ.
Faith matters. It does. Good decisions depend on it!
Each of us is included on the list of God’s favorites as God decided to send his son, Jesus, into the world to offer a certain point of proof about how favored we are! God didn’t choose me like a new suit. God didn’t choose me like a new car nor was I just one item on the menu! God chose me with same passion and conviction that God chose you and everyone around you. And that’s really good news… especially in a time when so many choices seem to be being made for us.
I’ve lived in a part of the country for most my life now where people are asked often to “make a decision” for Jesus. And while that can be a good thing, I continue to find it odd that my choosing God would hold any influence on God choosing me. It’s God’s way of working on relationships for even if we choose not to follow… God still chooses us and that’s the one decision none of us can ignore!
Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, the pastor at New Life Lutheran Church at 3521 E. Orange St. in Olde Towne Pearland. Follow him on twitter at https://twitter.com/Friend2theRabbi Your comments and/or questions can be sent to brian@newlifelutheran.com.
