A Choice To Make

For some it happens at a crisis moment in life. That was certainly the case with me.

In that crisis it was brought to my attention like never before that this life can be run along one of two ways – my way or God’s way. Making my way His way would still in essence be my concession and my submission that my way was no longer good enough, it had to be His way. At the same time, the door was still open to pursue my own way.

Submitting and conceding to God’s way would be a commitment to viewing the building project God has going on. It would be seeing how He builds a house and that house withstands the issues of life and flourishes and prospers despite opposition and great resistance. It would be engaging in the things of God according to His will in such a way that would leave me awestruck and cognisant again of that reality that His way is not my way and without His Spirit, I couldn’t begin to truly appreciate and contemplate the beauty of the building work He has going on. This would mean an involvement in seeing how His order operates and works and is rooted in His character of Holy love and how everything that’s right flows from there.

It would either be that, or cracking on with my own efforts in my own strength with my own intellect. Making the most of my own resources to develop what I felt to be right and identifying the connections that could help me develop in that area. This wouldn’t be so tricky because the environment that I was in promoted that anyway. There were plenty of avenues and opportunities to develop that and models abounded of men who went about doing it their way and – in the eyes of the world – succeeding.

That option remained open to me, but in that crisis moment I had a choice to make. Whether I liked it or not, there would be no room for going between two opinions. One way or the other.

That crisis moment took place over twenty years ago. It is still an evocative memory to this day because there are still moments and tugs at me to get me to reconsider that choice. Did I really want to be a part of this building project? Did I really want to give up all that could have been to bear witness to this? Maybe it would be worth just giving the alternative a try. Maybe.

Every so often those nudges and tugs come my way. To yield to them, though, would be the most foolish decision of my life. After all God has done for me not just in the twenty plus years, but more and the promise of more to discover, observe and get involved in – I would seriously have to be the biggest fool on earth to turn my back on that for something that is so dull and meaningless in comparison.

The thought of being the biggest fool on the earth is not something I particulary want to experience (again) and what there is ahead is so wonderful to contemplate – it makes the present more than bearable.

(Photo by Robert Anasch on Unsplash)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden