the choice
July 2, 2009
READ: Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-8
Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. —Genesis 2:16-17
I watched as a young mother tried to get her 2-year-old child to make a choice. “You can have fish or chicken,” she told him. She limited his choice to just two because he was too young to understand beyond that. Choice often allows a wider variety of options, and it also must allow the person to reject the choices.
Adam and Eve were in the best possible environment. God had given them freedom to eat of all the trees in Eden. He drew the boundary lines around only one tree! They had a choice, and it should have been a no-brainer to choose wisely. But their choice was tragic.
Some blame God for what they see as His restrictions. They may even accuse Him of trying to control their lives. But God gives us a choice, just as He did Adam and Eve.
Yes, God draws boundary lines, but they are for our protection. David understood this. He wrote, “You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies . . . . I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your Word” (Ps. 119:98-101).
God cares so much about us that He gives us boundary lines so that we will choose what is right. — C. P. Hia
God’s commandments were given to fulfill us, not to frustrate us.
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Loading ...move that bus!
The One sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then He said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true” (v.5).
READ: Revelation 21:1-5
I enjoy the TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Each week, the show tells the story of a family whose house is in shambles. It then follows a crew and community who come to the family’s rescue, rebuilding their humble home beyond their wildest dreams.
It’s a tearjerker scene when the family returns from a short vacation to view their new digs. The large group of people who have been working on their behalf are gathered outside the home to welcome them back. Then, with the family positioned behind a large bus, the crowd yells in unison, “Bus driver—move that bus!” As it pulls forward, the sight of their new home overwhelms the family with emotion.
Perhaps the reason the family’s reaction stirs our hearts so deeply is that it speaks to a deeper restoration we all “groan” and “long for” (Romans 8:23-24). Part of the good news of Christianity is that God is in the business of restoration! Along with being rescued from the penalty of our sins (1 Thessalonians 1:10), salvation through Jesus is also about living a “new life” today—experiencing the power of His resurrection (Romans 6:4). And it only gets better! Believers can also look forward to the day when Jesus returns and—once and for all—restores life to the way it was originally meant to be before sin and death entered the world. He says, “Look, I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5).
Today, life is still hard—at times extremely difficult for those of us who follow Jesus. His words tell us He is aware of our challenges: “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33). Still, even in a broken and hostile world, there are new beginnings as we plug into the process of living our life through Him (1 John 4:9). —Jeff Olson
What extreme makeover do you need God to begin in your life? What does it mean for you to know He will one day make “everything new”?
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