From the beginning of creation, God gave man/woman the freedom to choose.  Freedom comes with perils as well as blessings.  Of course, in His wisdom God wanted man to worship Him as a choice.  Not as an automation or a puppet whom God could control.

Soon we will be choosing one man to be our next President.  It’s our choice.  We don’t blindly choose him/her, but the person who best represents what we believe will make our country special and unique in the world.  One who represents the best of us and one who holds to the values of the Founding Fathers.

The concept of choice is central to the belief and philosophy of the Bible.  Since by definition, a choice is not coerced. But there are various degrees of freedom that a chooser may possess in making his choice. 

Choice in three Dimensions

A} Compelled choice:

One level of choice is related to the conventional, everyday usage of the term.  We each make countless choices every day.  Coffee or tea?  What color shall we paint our fence?  Should I take the job in New York or the one in Montana?

As long as no one is forcing your decision, yours can be said to be a “free choice.” But are you truly choosing freely?  Each of the options confronting you is armed with an entire array of qualities to sway your choice.

 You prefer coffee but everyone else is having tea.  Your sense of wanting to fit in compels you to also have tea, which everyone else is having.  White will liven up your gloomy backyard but will also show the dirt sooner than the green.  The pay in New York is higher but so is the crime rate.

You will weigh all the factors and make your decision.  But have you chosen wisely or have you the chosen the thing’s qualities? You made your choice as to which assets / influences you for the best possible outcome. 

B} Random choice 

But suppose you are above it all.  Suppose that nothing about these choices has the power to hold or sway you.  You made a choice as to what to drink, painting your fence, or which job to take.  But you made your decision on what is best for you.  The choice could have gone either way, correct?  So where were you in all this? In what way have you exercised your freedom to choose?   You have merely surrendered to something that is beyond you.  You made your choice on what you perceive to be the best possible outcome.

C} Quintessential choice.

What if your choice is determined by the very essence of who you are? For life is but the desire to be.  To make yourself special to someone.  To be able to give of yourself as a person chosen…. as well as a duty to your fellowman. The choices we face in life should be determined by what we perceive as a desired outcome of our life. How will we be remembered?   Are we pleasing to God for how we are living our life here and now?

As disciples of Jeshua, we each are chosen for a special work.  The early disciples were no different than us.  They faced various choices in life.  Many lost their lives because of their choice.

            What choices in life have I made?  What choices have you made?