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The prodigal son and choices





Today's world is filled with choices. We can choose our own lifestyle, living style, purchasing, social media and and so on. We can find selection of makes and models of cars we can choose, fast food outlets to eat at, soaps we can buy and not to mention the number of TV channels. It is a gift God gave us in the form of creativity. Such a trait is not developed anywhere near in other species. This wonderful gift to make thoughtful and intelligent choices was given to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. “You may freely eat any fruit in the garden” (Genesis 2:16). They were given responsibilities along with their freedom, to live and keep up the garden. Freedom of choice comes with responsibility to choose between good and evil.

A lot of people don’t like to be decision makers. They want decisions to be made for them. Ronald Reagan learned from a very young age that it is better to make a decision yourself than to let others make it for you. When he was a boy, his aunt took him to a shoe store and had the shoemaker to make him some custom-made shoes. He was asked if he wanted square toed or round toed shoes. He couldn’t make up his mind. When he went to pick them up one was round toed and one was square toed. It was a lesson the shoemaker was teaching him about making own decisions.

Sometimes we make bad decisions and choices. In the the story of Abraham and Lot, both made choices in selecting the land they wanted to live. Lot chose the lush green plain that included the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, known for their wickedness and licentiousness to settle down with his wife and daughters. Abraham took the opposite direction and they separated from each other (Gen. 13:7-13). In today’s world of social media, you can friend and ‘unfriend’ people as you like. You can ‘like’ and dislike people. You can look at a profile on Facebook or Twitter and see who someone is communicating with. The work we choose, the college or friends we select are all choices that will have consequences. Marrying a person of faith is very important choice in life. The community you choose to live in can have enormous influence on your life. Factors like the schools, the politics, the churches and the climate all add up.  Decisions made without taking time to pray and think through end up with tragic results as happened to Lot and family.

Sometimes we make foolish choices. Intentions may be good or harmless, but decisions may not be wise. It can happen in our personal life and even in Christian Ministry. Jesus told several parables to teach about the importance of making wise decisions. The man who built his house on the sand Matthew (7:24-27), the bridesmaids who waited till the last moment to get oil for their lamps (Matthew 25:1-13), the parable of the rich fool who made the choice to live for today (Luke 12:13-21) are examples. Then there are others who make easy choices by not trying or quitting in the middle of their tasks. The choice of the narrow gate that leads to life and the broad gate to destruction is ultimately ours to make (Matthew 7:13,14).

In the story of the prodigal son, we see the younger son making bad choices and good choices. He left the father's home by making a choice to be away from the father. He ended up in ruin as a result of his bad choices. But he also made a choice to repent and return. He could have quit to drugs or alcohol or even suicide. We live and die by our own choices. Noah could have quit. Jesus and the Apostles could have quit. Prophet Elijah almost quit. He went to the wilderness and asked God to take away his life (1 Kings 19:10). The devil wants us to quit. God wants us to be conquerors. “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37). “Stick to the fight when you are hardest hit, It’s when things seem worse that you must not quit”. The Bible teaches that as believers we need to be 'overcomers'.

Other than the gift of Jesus as the savior, the greatest gift God gave us is the gift of choice. The gift of freedom is to choose good from evil and right from wrong. It comes with the choice of reflection and return if we get on the wrong paths. We may be lost like the sheep due to ignorance, or like the coin lost to value and use, or even like the son who was lost due to his choice. God will never give up on those who would repent and return. Even the worst of choices that we had made can be redeemed by God's grace.

Blessings

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