Your Most Important Decision
Decision making is a big part of life. It's not a question of whether or not we have to make decisions, it's simply a matter of time and place. None of us can avoid having to decide on a whole lot of issues, sometimes daily. The essence of this involves our willingness to take risks, challenge deadlines, and meet important obligations which many times affect others as well as ourselves.
When it comes to doing my life work of training national pastors around the globe, I'm constantly reminded of the effects of my decisions on both myself and others. Even the matter of booking a ticket to Africa or East Asia puts a lot of wheels into motion that touch a lot of people other than myself. Arrival times have to be adjusted so people are not terribly inconvenienced about coming to the airport in the middle of the night or other important obligations. I am constantly trying to avoid putting others at risk or being totally inconvenienced by my decisions in so many different ways. I'm sure you do the same, too.
However, it is nearly impossible to make decisions without affecting others, and there is one in which avoiding impact on others is simply impossible. The decision of which I am speaking is a spiritual one. Whether or not we recognize it our spiritual decisions are not only eternally important to us but will have eternal impact on others in our families and friends. Nobody, and I repeat absolutely nobody, is an island unto himself when it comes to the power of personal decisions.
One of the important characters involved in the Christmas story was a Roman governor named Pilate. He attempted to walk the line of neutrality when it came to his potential release of Jesus from the charges made against him by the Jewish leaders. He had the power to reject the false claims of Christ's enemies, or he could accept the claims of Jesus as to who He really was. But in the end, his decision resulted in the brutal scourging and crucifiction of the perfect Son of God who was also perfectly innocent.
Matthew 27:24-25 says,
So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood, see to it yourselves."
Unfortunately, Pilate was as far from innocent as the east is from the west. So even though we as Christians understand the Sovereignty of God in this event being worked out into God's greater plan, Pilate's guilt will still have to be born by none other than Pilate himself. The same is true of Judas, the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the sorrounding Jewish mob who cried out for His death on the cross.
This reminds me of the unique power of our decisions. Forty three years ago I became the first person in three generations in my family, of which I am aware, to embrace the Christian message of the gospel. After believing on Christ as my Savior, I walked a new path which led to marrying a believer in Christ, which in turn has led to two more generations of my family embracing the gospel and declaring their commitment to living out the realities of the gospel in their lives. Perfect? Absolutely not, but do you see the power involved in my decision to trust Jesus Christ as my Savior over a full generation ago? It’s undeniable, and it demonstrates that the most important decison of your life not only may affect your eternal future but those all around you. Remember the words of the writer to the Hebrews in 2:3,
How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?
When it comes to doing my life work of training national pastors around the globe, I'm constantly reminded of the effects of my decisions on both myself and others. Even the matter of booking a ticket to Africa or East Asia puts a lot of wheels into motion that touch a lot of people other than myself. Arrival times have to be adjusted so people are not terribly inconvenienced about coming to the airport in the middle of the night or other important obligations. I am constantly trying to avoid putting others at risk or being totally inconvenienced by my decisions in so many different ways. I'm sure you do the same, too.
However, it is nearly impossible to make decisions without affecting others, and there is one in which avoiding impact on others is simply impossible. The decision of which I am speaking is a spiritual one. Whether or not we recognize it our spiritual decisions are not only eternally important to us but will have eternal impact on others in our families and friends. Nobody, and I repeat absolutely nobody, is an island unto himself when it comes to the power of personal decisions.
One of the important characters involved in the Christmas story was a Roman governor named Pilate. He attempted to walk the line of neutrality when it came to his potential release of Jesus from the charges made against him by the Jewish leaders. He had the power to reject the false claims of Christ's enemies, or he could accept the claims of Jesus as to who He really was. But in the end, his decision resulted in the brutal scourging and crucifiction of the perfect Son of God who was also perfectly innocent.
Matthew 27:24-25 says,
So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood, see to it yourselves."
Unfortunately, Pilate was as far from innocent as the east is from the west. So even though we as Christians understand the Sovereignty of God in this event being worked out into God's greater plan, Pilate's guilt will still have to be born by none other than Pilate himself. The same is true of Judas, the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the sorrounding Jewish mob who cried out for His death on the cross.
This reminds me of the unique power of our decisions. Forty three years ago I became the first person in three generations in my family, of which I am aware, to embrace the Christian message of the gospel. After believing on Christ as my Savior, I walked a new path which led to marrying a believer in Christ, which in turn has led to two more generations of my family embracing the gospel and declaring their commitment to living out the realities of the gospel in their lives. Perfect? Absolutely not, but do you see the power involved in my decision to trust Jesus Christ as my Savior over a full generation ago? It’s undeniable, and it demonstrates that the most important decison of your life not only may affect your eternal future but those all around you. Remember the words of the writer to the Hebrews in 2:3,
How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?
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