faith – Page 3 – Sabrina J-R

The Choice Is Ours

Free choice, while a free gift, does come with a high price.

I have a relative who was raised in a Christian environment and taught all about God. Education was done at a private Christian school, helping to emphasize and reinforce the teachings in the home. However, the home life wasn’t the most ideal. As a result of a combination of things, this relative has chosen to turn away from God. Completely.

It’s their choice to do so. God has given all of us the power of free choice. He outlines in His Word the benefits and blessings of life with Him and the great reward. He also outlines what life is like without Him in it. It isn’t as promising as life with Him. Yet, in the end, the choice lies with each one of us. We can choose either way. And you also have the power to change your mind.

I know a number of people. Not all are Christians, nor have they all been taught about the option of living life with God. Yet, for the most part, the majority of these people are nice, kind, generous, sincere and loving in their own way. Some are searching for a deeper meaning to life and are going along a more self-directed thinking. Others recognize the need to acknowledge the power that is beyond them, outside of themselves and so, choose God.

The relative who has chosen to turn away from God has done so with such a vengeance and anger that it has made them bitter and spiteful and unattractive. What a lonely life. It’s been sad to watch. Yet, it’s their choice. Regardless of what I think and regardless of what I believe, it’s not my role to act as persuader. Even if it helps them to become nicer.

All I can do is hope that my life painted a different picture of God than the horrible memories they’re clinging too from years past and refuse to forgive others for.

This is enough motivation to always choose life.

Throwing in the Towel, Then Reeling it Back in

My immediate reaction was astonishment.

I was watching a replay of a sermon online. The message was fantastic and the speaker even had a couple props. His message topic was about fighting; letting God fight our battles. One of the analogies was a story from Rocky IV. He told a scene in the movie when the manager had the ability to “throw in the towel” when things got too rough. Then the fighter could just walk away, while he was still alive. But in the case of the movie, the fighter let his pride overrule reason and he died in the ring.

Sometimes we let pride keep us in a lethal fight, when we should just suck it up and throw in the towel, trusting God for the outcome. The speaker’s final “act” was to take a towel that he was holding, ball it up, and throw it away. This symbolized us “throwing in the towel” and surrendering our fight to God. Then we can lean back against the ropes and let God fight for us.

Great point, right? And such a fitting illustration.

But what happened next on my computer screen killed the moment. As soon as the towel landed, a lady sitting nearby picked up the towel, and brushed it off, and set it on her lap. My immediate reaction was shock & outrage. I wondered how this lady could just disrupt the mood by her action. It seemed to me that she was more concerned about the towel than the message.

My second reaction was understanding.

This is exactly what we do at times. Way too often than we should. We finally get the courage to let go. Then we start to second guess ourselves, still clinging to our issues emotionally. So, we chase after our stuff and pick it up again. We brush it off and settle it comfortably on our laps, almost as though the letting go part never happened. We kill the moment.

This incident was a great reminder for me to let go–with both hands. Let go and leave it there. Stop trying to chase after the stuff. Stop trying to coach God on how to handle my battle. He’s the only One who can see the end from the beginning. I do not have such oversight.

Let it all go.

Invisibly Present

I used to dread the days when my classmates had to select teammates during high school Phys Ed. If you’re the no-so-athletic type, you’ve probably had many nail-biting moments where you silently begged God to not be the last pick.

Then came the day when I was not even picked….

I’m very excited announce that I’m guest posting over at (in)courage today. Come on over to finish the story there.