Articles
He Had No Choice
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” – Deut 30:19
I gave my dog, Eddie, a bath today. He didn’t like it; he never does. But he really doesn’t have a choice in the matter because…well, because he’s the pet and I am the master. Plus, despite his keen canine sense of smell, it is I who understands when he is in dire need of a good scrubbing. Peeee-yewww!
In a similar vein, Christ is our Master and we are subject to his Lordship. It is Christ – the Creator who formed us, the One who examines our hearts – who knows well before we do exactly what we need and the actions we should take.
Yet, there is something vastly different about the relationship Christ our Lord offers us. Yes, Jesus is Master and we His bondservants. Yes, He knows best the way we should take. But He does not seek to own pets or robotic playthings. He seeks a relationship based on mutual love and respect. In other words, He wants us to choose to be washed clean.
When our children were young, they mostly viewed baths with the same disdain as my dog (that’s why bath toys enjoy such a vast market – we use them as bribes to get kids to stay in the water longer than three seconds). But once they became teenagers, they discovered for themselves the value of bathing, and now they choose to wash. Hidden within all the commanding and threatening we do with our young children is a vision of hope for their future: the day when they will choose to do good, choose to live pure lives, choose to love and forgive as they have been loved and forgiven.
Jesus has the right to force open our hearts, to tear down our doors and invade our lives. But, instead, He has chosen to invite us into a real, personal relationship of love. He is the Victorious King of Glory who has invaded Hades and conquered Death; yet with us He is willing to “stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev 3:20)
There are those who claim that Christ acts unilaterally to force spiritual regeneration on sinners like I forced cleanliness on my dog. When I washed my dog, I did not invite him into the bathroom, I did not take any time to explain to him why he was getting a bath nor plead with him to choose the benefits of not being a stinker. Having little respect for his opinion in the matter, I did not offer my dog a choice. I repeat: God is not seeking pets; God is seeking children who obey him out of genuine, heartfelt love and respect.
Christ invites. Christ explains. Christ pleads. Christ respects your personhood enough to offer you the choice to call on His name for salvation...or not. “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…We will serve the Lord.”
