Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV),”This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
Life is full of choices, too many options if you ask me. Most restaurant menus are as long as the Declaration of Independence. My daughter changes her mind at least a half a dozen times when we go out to eat. Usually, my husband and I order the same thing over and over. Cable TV boasts 150 channels (don’t even get me started on that one!). More time is spent flipping through the guide than ever watching. Walk into any clothing store and it will make your mind spin with the options, colors, styles, and stylishly clothed manikins. Why do we want so many choices and options? Because we think that is a proof of our freedom.
But what is freedom, really? Is it being able to do whatever we want, whenever we want, to whomever we want? Don’t those same choices sometimes bring baggage and bondage? We want more, so we have to work harder, or charge higher to get what we want. Then once we get it all, aren’t we bound to take care of it, use it, wear it, show it all off. What we choose or don’t choose is important. How many times have you wanted to toss that remote instead of flip for something good to watch, or how many times have you decided to stay home for dinner because you couldn’t make up your mind where to go? We all want to be in control, have our say, be our own boss, but to do that we have to grasp onto something. The choice is the rope that the world (ultimately the devil) throws our way, or the rope that Christ offers us.
Let’s take a look at the firs rope. All those empty promises, all those lies, that we “need” something else, that we would “be happier if…” that rope does one of two things, and sometimes both. It either wraps around us like a sticky web and constrains us from our true purpose, it binds us up like a spider binds her meal up for later, or it wraps us up into a cocoon of apathy. One that tells us that “I’m good, it’s all good, me and mine are fine.” It’s like you’ve been lulled to sleep. It may feel all cozy and comfy, but it is still a web! It isn’t the cocoon of a caterpillar, it’s the “I’ll eat you later” silk prison spun by a hungry spider. Don’t be fooled.
The second rope, the one offered by Jesus, is nothing less than a life line. It’s a way out of the mess, it is the safety rope of a mountain climber. Where the other rope is a sticky web that confines, and constrains us, Jesus rope is one that gives us security, comfort, and allows us to reach out. Think of those mountain climbers, securely attached to the safety rope, they take risks knowing that they won’t fall and crash to their deaths. Or think of the drowning person who sees that lifeline thrown their way, its rescue. This rope compels us to move on, to climb higher, and to take risks.
This is the Big Choice! Which rope will you grab hold of? You will grab one; not grabbing a rope isn’t one of the options to choose from.
I choose real freedom. Freedom to soar, to fly high. Just like that zip line that takes you quickly to the destination all the while keeping you above the cares and snares of the world. I want the safety line that brings true security, not the false security of hanging around waiting for something ugly to suck out my insides.
What about you?