Rev. Sudha Mehta©
FREEDOM OF CHOICE!
Photo from coronadobiblechurch.org
Genesis 3: 1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise? 2 And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die. 4 And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. 5 For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons.(DRB)
How many of you would be loyal to a cause? Any cause?? How many of you would be faithful and obedient to a person? Faithful, True, Loyal, Obedient and never ever miss the mark of perfect service to this person or cause . . .
Perhaps there are some of you that would say “Yes!! I would totally want and be able to do this!”
How do you know? Should we take your word for it, or can we have some proof?
Most would agree, that unless such fierce and passionate loyalty is tested and proved, one’s assertion is just that . . . an assertion!
Until an assertion of faith and loyalty is tested you don’t know how you will do. Without a test the question remains. Any test can only be a test if there is a choice. You have a choice to be loyal or not, a choice to do right or wrong. In fact, all of life is choices.
For Adam and Eve the test of this loyalty was the Tree and it’s fruit:
“To eat or not to eat?” . . . that was the question!
There is a choice in every action, thought, word, and even feeling. Your choice determines your decision. Everyday, you make countless decisions- Whether to get out of bed or not, what to eat, where or when to go, what to wear. Even something as basic as brushing your teeth is a choice.
Think of marriage, career, children or no children, where to live, what educational goals to set, to study and succeed, or not study and fail . . . all are choices. Even in arranged marriages there is the choice and commitment to make: Do you choose to love, be faithful and be a good spouse, or do you choose to be unfaithful and a hateful, bitter person who is very hard to live with . . . choices!
Tell a lie or speak the truth, get angry or not, laugh or cry, deceive or not, gossip or not, be lazy or not, be happy or not, work or not . . . I am sure you can come up with a hundred more choices if you think about it for a moment. All choices, all decisions!
Freedom of Choice is one the thing God has given us that He will never violate. Think about this . . . God who is Sovereign over all and Omnipotent to do all will not violate puny-little-me’s Freedom of Choice. This is mind boggling!
To serve Him or not is my choice. To be a Christ follower or not . . . my choice. He does not and will not force me. I choose!
Now if Sovereign God Himself does not force me, no one else can make my choice either. Indeed many have tried to make me give Him up and walk away from Him, but it is my choice to stay or go, and I choose to stay!
Through the ages past and even today I find the Old Serpent from the Garden still at work, the tree is not visible but the choice remains: “To eat or not eat . . . is still the question. Believe the lies the Serpent whispers in your ear or not . . .
Photo on Etsy Jewelry ad.
Oppressive systems the world over, sometimes visible, sometimes invisible, still would have you believe and follow what they want you to. There are governments, political systems, and peoples that try to impose their own brand of religion, creed, belief system upon the masses, yet our Creator has said . . . “Your Choice . . . you pick.”
Photo by Pexels
Seductive belief systems come in the guise of peace and bring you messages that seem to give a soothing spiritual massage to lull you into believing. “Lull your senses,” “Do it, it’s easy,” “It will make you forget the pain,” “Just have fun,” “Drink more,” “Use more,” “Spend more,” “You deserve it,” “Forget about everybody else,” “Who knows about tomorrow,” “Who cares about tomorrow,” “Nobody loves you,” “Love yourself,” . . . . sound familiar?!
Tarot Card readers, Palm readers, Fortune tellers with crystal balls or Charts that see the alignment of stars and planets, Mediums, Brothels all await . . . “Pick your poison!” Others come bringing you messages even from the dead claiming they know the way, “Follow me.”
Photo by Pexels
In the midst of all of this DIN I do not see my Savior saying anything different than “You choose them or Me, your choice!”
Starting from Adam and Eve and even now we have the choice, “Follow or not.”
Joshua 24: And if it seem evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.(AKJV)
Never, ever has God forced anyone into obedience. He did not want robots to do his bidding, He wanted sons and daughters that understand that when they disobey, the natural consequences are not good. When God says do not do something, it is only because He as our Maker and One who knows the future and sees all, knows the end result before you have even done the deed.
Sadly, many have come even in His name over the Millennia and continue this day to force people into submission! THIS IS WRONG!! NO TRUE EMISSARY OF GOD WILL EVER FORCE UPON YOU A CHOICE YOU DO NOT WANT TO MAKE!! These are false prophets, they will be judged fiercely by God!
Matthew 7: 15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.(AKJV)
Matthew 24: 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. (AKJV)
God wants faithfulness, loyalty, allegiance, and yes, He wants to be LOVED . . . but He wants it to be a CHOICE! Freely given, not forced!
He loved Mankind so much that He Himself, the Creator who made the Adam and Eve and the Tree, came down from heaven to become the Sacrifice on the Tree to save Adam and Eve and their descendants which is you and me.
Having paid the full price with nails through His hands and feet for your ransom to the Devil, He INVITES LOVINGLY! Forcing is not His way, He wants genuine love not pretense.
Photo by none-payment.cf
John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.(AKJV)
I will pick up here in the next post with more on Adam and Eve. Hope you join me.
Leave a comment! I would love to hear from you. Though I can’t promise that I will be able to respond to you all, I do promise to read all your comments!
Find us, like us, join us on WordPress, FaceBook, Twitter, and Google:
And remember, anything you give to this little Ministry, we use o spread the Word more.
One Way Studies 
2 Comments Add yours