Choices not only shape our lives – they determine the path we walk day by day. Making the right choice in every situation every day is often the hardest thing we do.
The daily commitment to do right or wrong either rewards us or causes us to suffer! What’s more, negative consequences may not only hurt us but others also.
Of all the choices that confront us, the most important is to follow Jesus as a personal Savior. It’s not an easy choice because following Jesus requires denying oneself by daily taking up a cross (Luke 9:23)—that powerful symbol of death to self.
Sometimes we think we have made the right choice, but we can never be sure unless the cross of self-denial is real to us through our commitment to Christ as our daily guide. Vivid examples are offered in the Gospels of the struggles faced by Christ’s disciples to understand His teachings and follow His commands. They were obedient for the most part, and we can learn from their examples and their faith, their humility and their service to others; but we can learn also from their mistakes—as when they abandoned Jesus at the time of His arrest.
My mother-in-law, Mary Kristoff, had a plaque on her wall with words that made an impact on me then and stays with me to this day: “Our one life twill soon be past, but only what is done for Christ will last.”