By RaeLynn DeAngelis
Recently, we attended the wedding of a special young couple my husband and I affectionately refer to as our “Florida kids.” (How we met them is a God-story in itself, but I’ll save that for another time.)
Nathan and Elle’s love story began in a small town in Kentucky as high school sweethearts. After graduation, Elle decided to go to college to earn her business degree and settled on Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. The college was hundreds of miles away from her home in Paducah, Kentucky.
Although Nathan had no plans to go to college, he decided to follow Elle to Florida, get his real estate license, and keep the romance going by staying close. Smart man. This past spring, shortly after her graduation, Elle and Nathan officially tied the knot and began the next chapter of their happily ever after.
Their wedding was a picture-perfect kind of day. When my husband and I entered the open-air chapel nestled among tall live oaks, we were greeted with the elegant sound of violin music. It felt like we were walking into a fairy tale. We stood at the back of the chapel for a moment until a groomsman offered to escort us to our seats. He turned to me and asked, “Would you like to sit on the side of the bride or the groom?”
Hmm… we were in a quandary. We were there for both of them. How could we possibly choose?
Have you ever felt pressure to pick a side—to choose? Perhaps it was choosing who to root for when your two favorite teams were playing. Maybe it was deciding between two of your favorite restaurants. Or maybe there was a more critical decision, like who to vote for in an election or deciding between two different job offers.
Some decisions are temporary. Others leave a lasting impact.
From the time we are children, we are faced with choices. What to eat. What to wear. Who to hang with. Which college to go to. Who to marry.
Throughout Scripture, God presents His children with choices:
- Life or death
- Blessings or curses
- Freedom or captivity
- Obedience or defiance
- Grace or works
God, in His infinite wisdom, has given us the freedom to choose. Our “job” is to choose wisely. Sounds easy enough, right? But is it?
Like my husband and me as we stood at the back of the chapel, the choice is not always clear in the moment. We need time to think. What is the short-term benefit of this decision? What could be the long-lasting consequence?
“Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him’” (1 Kings 18:21).
Yes, sometimes we want to have our cake and eat it too. But as I bet you have already experienced, choices come with costs and consequences. Daily decisions influence the future.
Imagine you’re at the back of a chapel and God walks up to you and asks, “Which side are you on?”
“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 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).
Who are we going to worship, serve, and follow? The One True God who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present, or the “little g” god that’s tempting us to compromise our values, dreams, and future?
Friends, that “little g” god might offer temporary comfort, entertainment, or wealth, but it’s not worth trading our eternal rewards to achieve it. I’ve certainly made my share of bad decisions, but I’ve learned the key is to admit when I’ve gone astray, repent, and start walking in the opposite direction.
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
I don’t always get it right. But in the end, my compass is set true north. Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Now… how about you?
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