Choices

Sometimes choices complicate life. Eating out is a case in point. When I was stationed at an overseas naval base, our choices were easy. Walk into a restaurant (one of three from which to choose) and the waitress handed you a menu. One page. Nothing on the back. Options included chicken, fish, and hamburger - grilled or fried. Thirsty? Select cola, ice tea or coffee. Like some dessert? Try some frozen yogurt or a fruit dish.

It never took long to decide what to have.

But that all changed when I transferred back to America. Walk into a restaurant (one of a thousand from which to choose) and the waitress hands you a menu. Dessert choices alone fill a page - front and back. Dinner and entre offerings fold out to three pages. A year after returning home I still felt paralyzed by all the choices. To keep my sanity I often simply ordered a hamburger and fries.

But if you think three pages of menu choices can complicate life, consider this: Jesus offers us only two choices -- serve Him or reject Him. You’d think it wouldn’t take long to decide. And for some, it doesn’t. But too many people, after years of staring at the menu, remain undecided. They still study the choices, front and back, looking for a better deal.

There isn’t any better deal. That’s why Scripture repeatedly warns us to choose -- today -- whom we will serve. One day the restaurant will suddenly close its doors. When that happens, the choice will have been made for those still trying to decide.

RNmaffeo@aol.com