'Make a Decision'

At some point, the salesperson (but usually my wife) says, ‘just make a decision.’ Trivial as that example is, we have many more important decisions we have to make in our lives. Some are more complex, some are simple, some are easy, some are hard, and some we don’t even know we need to make. When there are too many choices, we can become paralyzed. If we don’t know a choice is before us, someone else ends up making it for us. We need to make decisions, and our decisions define who we are.

Jesus calls us to make a decision. At the very beginning of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus lays out for us a decision point. “The time has come,” He said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) The word translated as ‘repent’ simply means to turn away. Jesus is saying, ‘I’ve got a better road for you. Turn this way into the Kingdom of God and you will find true life. Fortunately, it is a binary decision: stay on the course you are on or turn in this way to a new path. 

If you saw someone holding a sign on I-10 that read ‘Disaster Ahead! Turn Back!’ you would probably heed that warning and turn off at the nearest exit. You don’t want to run off a bridge that is out, hit a long line of backed up cars, or have to sit in traffic for hours. We heed the sign and the warning because we know it will save us heartache, car repairs, expense, and anger. In Mark 1:15, Jesus is the man holding the sign. He is saying, ‘Disaster lies ahead if you keep going. Turn around here. The detour is the only route that will get you to the blessed life in the Kingdom of God.’ 

We all know that Jesus is right. We have already been going down the road of disaster. We have been the cause of too many ‘accidents’, broken relationships, and become alienated from people we used to love and who used to love us. We all make disasters of our lives. We don’t need any convincing. We are living it. We have gone down too many wrong roads that we should have turned back from.

The good news is that we don’t have to keep barreling down that road that has proven to be disastrous for our lives and relationships. Paul puts it this way, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”(Rom 5:8). We were heading toward disaster and death. Jesus went ahead, paid the price, and is now on a rescue mission to get us on the path to the Kingdom, the place of the Father’s unceasing life. 

Everyone has a decision point when it comes to the most important one we can make: life or death. Don’t overthink it, make it too complicated, try to minimize it, or make it something it isn’t when it is a relational decision. Jesus says, “I love you. Turn here into the Kingdom. Follow me.”

If you are ready to make that decision, talk with Jesus about it. He is the one calling you. Tell Him about the disasters and brokenness in your life. Be honest. Be real. Tell Him you want His forgiveness so that you can turn into the Kingdom road, the blessed life. It is that simple, that easy, that powerful! Now is the time to make a decision.

Blessed to be a blessing,

Jonathan