Crossroads: A Crucial Point Especially Where a Decision Must be Made

This day I call heaven and 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 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life…
Deuteronomy 30:19-20a NIV

I find myself and others in my family at a crossroads. We have crucial choices ahead. We each want specific guidance on how to move forward. I was praying this week about each of our decisions, and hoping for some word from God to pop out of the pages of my Bible to tell me whether I should go to the state college or the private college. Instead, the search in the Scriptures led me to an even more crucial choice- life and death, good and evil, blessings and curses.

My guidance was not specific, but the sense I had was whatever I chose make sure it led to life and blessings. Beware of the trappings of those other things that entice me away from devotion to God. We know what leads to life and death, but sometimes we ignore the life path, because we hope just this once self-centeredness will lead to life, but it doesn’t. Instead it leads to disappointment, and destruction at its worst.

In Proverbs, we are told to “Guard our hearts above all else”. This principle can guide us in our decision making as well. It is another way of saying, does my choice please God or myself. God has some pretty wide parameters when it comes to specific choices, but the general choices tend to be narrower. And that is good, because Jesus said the narrow way leads to life, but the wide way leads to destruction. It is a mystery how we can have so much latitude in what we choose to do in our vocations, yet in our pursuit of being, that is, who we are and how we live in relation to God and others is simpler: Love one another.

As I was contemplating the choices before me I came across a journal prompt, which encouraged me to draw an X on the page, and write the choices at the end of each line of the X. I was going to write go to this college or that college. Instead I decided to write life, death, blessing and curse. As I thought about those choices, I began to draw a cross over the whole thing. That was when I realized Jesus actually chose all four of those, so that I might live.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross .

Colossians 1:19-20NIV