READ: ROMANS 6
Don’t you realize that whatever you chose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval. (V. 6)
Did you ever notice that life is a steady stream of choices? My day begins with an array of decisions. These range from selecting breakfast and the clothes I will wear to arranging my priorities for the day ahead. Most of the time the choices increase as the day progresses and life becomes more complicated. When I put it all in perspective, I realize the quality of my life is frequently dependent upon the choices I make—some good, some ok and some just plain bad!
When I served as Deputy Chief of Police, one of my responsibilities was to make disciplinary recommendations to the Chief stemming from cases of officer misconduct. Upon reviewing the internal investigations, I often noted that the initial decision of the officer started the ball rolling in the wrong direction. The words of wisdom spoken by a former Chief, “When something starts in the wrong it rarely gets better.” This adage applied to a majority of the cases I reviewed, and frankly to my life as well. When confronted with their wrongful actions, most officers admitted to their error of judgement or conduct, and accepted correction and discipline. However, a few chose to evade responsibility. They rationalized that their actions were the direct result of things such as poor supervision, deficient training, lack of clearly defined policies and procedures or peer pressure. However, in the end, it really boiled down to individual choices and decisions.
We are about to turn the page on a New Year and are encouraged to examine our prior year’s performance. This honest and sincere self-reflection is designed to facilitate the creation of “New Years Resolution’s” to stimulate positive life changes in the coming year. One of the key rhetorical questions we ask during our self-evaluation is, “How can I make better initial choices to avoid the negative consequences that have not only affected me, but those who my life has impacted on a daily basis?” God chose to answer this question for us when he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross for our sins. Paul teaches that when we chose Jesus, we have accepted his victory over sin and death. However, we must commit fully to this choice, (Romans 10: 9-10), in thought word and deed. Making the all the right choices on the road of life is impossible, but with Jesus as your partner and the Holy Spirit as your guide, you have a much better chance of getting things right from the start!
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Listening to the voice of Jesus through the Holy Spirit and using The Bible as the basis for your daily decision-making will put your life choices on a firm foundation. Choices that start and end with Christ always end well! The New Year is a good time to make this happen as you turn to your next page of life.
Dear Jesus, help me a sinner make the choice to put you at the heart of my life.