Choices

…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

Joshua 24:15

What if I had…? Have you ever said those words? Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you had made a different choice or if your circumstances had been different?

While on a recent trip to New England, my sister and I visited the grave of Robert Frost. Frost wrote a well-known poem, “The Road Not Taken,” which is about two roads that diverged in a yellow wood. He writes that he took the road less traveled and that decision made all the difference. Did Frost write his poem to mean the road traveled made a good difference or was the road traveled a regret?

We make choices daily. Many of those choices have little impact on our lives. But some choices determine our direction and impact us greatly. For example, the words I choose in a conversation with someone today can determine the future direction of my relationship with that person. The choice I make in entertainment today can impact the direction of my thinking, and, therefore, impact my words and actions. 

Joshua stood before the people of Israel and spoke to them about the greatest choice in life. He exhorted them to choose whom they would serve.  All people have a choice in life of whom they follow and serve. There are only two choices. Either a person submits to Jesus as Lord and follows Him, or a person follows the god of this age. One choice leads to eternal life and blessing. The other choice leads to eternal separation from all that is good. 

Joshua’s choice was clear. He and all his family chose to follow and serve the one, true LORD. I, too, have made this choice. I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Though it is the road less traveled, I can testify that it is the road to joy, blessing, and abundant life!

Whom have you chosen to serve? That choice will make all the difference!

Jan Burkhart