My son-in-law went to get his hair cut from his regular stylist.  She is a sassy girl – not shy about what she thinks.  He had sprouted somewhat of a beard since his last visit.  She saw it and said, “I don’t like it!” 

She muttered her dislike for the first half of the haircut, and then impulsively

took her razor and drew it down the side of his head, past his ear and onto his face, plowing a clean swath all the way down to the bottom of his chin.  

It was a novel look!  One he didn’t like, so he bowed to her will and she shaved the whole thing away.  

Isn’t it amazing how other people find it so easy to impose their wills upon us?  We live in a world where we are told what pronouns we are allowed to use, what kind of energy will power our cars, and what we must believe about issues of sexuality.  For that matter, my wife frequently tells me to tuck in my shirt.

As far as I know there is only one person who gives us complete freedom of choice. And that would be the Lord.

This was apparent to Adam in the garden.  “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it. Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die” – Genesis 2:15-17. 

Adam was forewarned, but certainly not forced.  The Lord allowed him to choose. He could ignore the forbidden fruit and live, or eat of it and die.  I wish elections in this country offered such clear choices. 

Adam and Eve chose poorly, leaving themselves and every child of Eden ever since, to bear the burden of sin and its consequences. 

But in the fullness of time Jesus came to earth, to bear that burden for us.   Peter wrote, “…Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring you to God…”  – 1 Peter 3:18.

Despite the enormous cost to Jesus, we are given complete freedom to receive or reject His gift.

Jesus put it this way in Revelation 3:20, “Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home.”

This was an invitation to those who had believed, and yet it captures the heartfelt invitation that He extends to all of us.  Jesus freely offers everything we need and could ever want, but He politely refuses to barge into our lives and force it upon us.

He stands outside, patiently hoping and waiting that we will turn the deadbolt and push open the door.   He wants an invitation to be an intimate part of our lives, and for us to be a part of His.  He wants to enter our world that we might enjoy an abundant life now and eternal life forever.  

However, as with Adam, there are consequences that come with our choices.  John 3:16 is a sober reminder, “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

If you have not done so already, I wonder if you might take some time today to think on this, and if you wish, you too can choose to open the door of your life to Jesus. 

Whisper to Him words like these, “Lord be merciful to me, for I too am a sinner. I am trusting Jesus, the Son of God, to wash me of my sin and give me the gift of eternal life. From this point forward – I am yours.”   

It’s your choice!

A PRAYER: I pray Lord, that each of us would have the wisdom to choose Jesus.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you always.

Passages are from the NETBible®