“This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, “We will not walk in it.”’”
— Jeremiah 6:16 NIV
Well, I was sitting on the porch this morning watching my human drink his coffee and read his Bible. I got to thinking about choices. Now, I know a thing or two about choices. Especially when it comes to whether I should chase a squirrel, bark at the mailman, or pretend I haven’t eaten just in case somebody offers me another breakfast.
Apparently, humans make about 35,000 choices every day. Some are big, some are small, and some seem pretty insignificant. But every choice takes us somewhere.
My human reminded me that the choices we make don’t just affect us. They affect the people around us, too.
We get to choose to love or hate.
Choose love.
We get to choose right or wrong.
Choose right.
We get to choose light or darkness.
Choose light.
We get to choose good or evil.
Choose good.
We get to choose the easy way or God’s way.
Choose God’s way.
And sometimes, the hardest choice is simply choosing Jesus.
I heard my human reading Jeremiah this morning. God told His people to stop, look at the crossroads, seek the ancient paths, find the good way, and walk in it. But here’s the sad part: they knew where the good way was, and they chose not to walk it.
Sounds a whole lot like today, doesn’t it?
We live in a world full of voices telling us which way to go. Everybody has an opinion, an agenda, and a path they want us to follow. But not every road leads somewhere worth going.
Here’s what I learned from my human this morning:
Following Jesus is a choice we have to make every single day.
Not just on Sunday.
Not just when life is easy.
Not just when everybody agrees with us.
Every day.
We can choose our own way, or we can surrender to His. We can follow the crowd, or we can follow the Savior.
And let’s not forget, choosing Jesus isn’t about being good enough to earn God’s love. It’s about recognizing we’re sinners who need a Savior. Jesus went to the cross, died for our sins, and rose again so we could be forgiven and have new life in Him.
So today, wherever you find yourself standing at the crossroads, stop and look.
Seek His way.
Trust His Word.
And choose to follow Jesus.
As for me, I think I’ll choose to stay on the porch a little longer. Unless, of course, that squirrel shows up. Then we’ll see how strong my convictions really are…
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
