I Will Let You Choose

I Will Let You Choose


Meet Edwin Thomas, a master of the stage. During the latter half of the 1800s, this small man with the huge voice had few rivals. When it came to performance on the stage, Edwin Thomas was in a select group.

When it came to tragedy in life, the same could be said as well. Edwin had a brother, John. He also was an actor but never was as successful as Edwin.



The brother, John on a crisp April night in 1865, stole quietly into the rear of a box in the Washington theater and fired a bullet at the head of Abraham Lincoln. Yes, the last name of the brothers was Booth—Edwin Thomas Booth and John Wilkes Booth.



Edwin was never the same after that night. Shame from his brother’s crime drove him into retirement. He might never have returned to the stage had it not been for a twist of fate at a New Jersey train station. Edwin was awaiting his coach when a well-dressed young man, pressed by the crowd, lost his footing and fell between the platform and a moving train. Without hesitation, Edwin locked a leg around a railing, grabbed the man, and pulled him to safety. After the sighs of relief, the young man recognized the famous Edwin Booth.



Edwin, however, didn’t recognize the young man he’d rescued. That knowledge came weeks later in a letter, a letter he carried in his pocket to the grave. A letter from General Adams Budeau, chief secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant. A letter thanking Edwin Booth for saving the life of the child of an American hero, Abraham Lincoln.



How ironic that while one brother killed the president, the other brother saved the president’s son. The boy Edwin Booth yanked to safety? Robert Todd Lincoln.



Edwin and John Booth. Same father, mother, profession and passion—yet one chooses life, the other, death. How could it happen? No one can say for sure, but it does. Though their story is dramatic, it’s not unique.



Abel and Cain, both sons of Adam. Abel chooses God. Cain chooses murder. And God lets him. Abraham and Lot, both pilgrims in Canaan. Abraham chooses God. Lot chooses Sodom. And God lets him. David and Saul, both kings of Israel. David chooses God. Saul chooses power. And God lets him. Peter and Judas, both deny their Lord. Peter seeks mercy. Judas seeks death. And God lets him.



In every age of history, on every page of Scripture, the truth is revealed: God allows us to make our own choices. And no one delineates this more clearly than Jesus. According to Him, we can choose:

• a narrow gate or a wide gate

• a narrow road or a wide road

• the big crowd or the small crowd

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14)



We can choose to:

• be “like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Or be “like a person who builds a house on sand.” (Matt. 7:24-27)

• serve God or wealth. “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matt. 6:24)

• be numbered among the sheep or the goats “All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.” (Matt. 25:32-33)

Let’s consider that Friday at Calvary. Ever wonder why there were two crosses next to Christ? Why not six or 10? Ever wonder why Jesus was in the center? Why not on the far right or far left? Could it be that the two crosses on the hill symbolize one of God’s greatest gifts? The gift of choice.



The two criminals have so much in common. Convicted by the same system. Condemned to the same death. Surrounded by the same crowd. Equally close to the same Jesus. In fact, they both begin with the same sarcasm: “The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus” (Matt. 27:44, CEV). But one changed.



One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

(Luke 23:39-43).



Much has been said about the prayer of the repentant thief, and it certainly warrants our admiration. But while we rejoice at the thief who changed, dare we forget the one who didn’t? What about him, Jesus? Wouldn’t a personal invitation be appropriate? Wouldn’t a word of persuasion be timely?



Does not the shepherd leave the 99 sheep and pursue the one lost? Does not the housewife sweep the house until the lost coin is found? Yes, the shepherd does, the housewife does; but the father of the prodigal, remember, does nothing.

• The sheep was lost innocently.

• The coin was lost irresponsibly.

• But the prodigal son left intentionally

The father gave him the choice. Jesus gave both criminals the same.



There are times when God sends thunder to stir us. There are times when God sends blessings to lure us. But then there are times when God sends nothing but silence as He honors us with the freedom to choose. And one of the choices He allows us is where we spend eternity!



And what an honor it is! In so many areas of life we have no choice. Think about it. We didn’t choose our gender. We didn’t choose our parents or siblings. We didn’t choose our race or place of birth.



Sometimes our lack of choices angers us. “It’s not fair,” we say. It’s not fair that I was born in poverty or that I sing so poorly or that I run so slowly. But the scales of life were forever tipped on the side of fairness when God planted a tree in the garden of Eden and told Adam and Eve not to eat it’s fruit. The only instruction given to them. But Adam and his descendants (this includes us) were given free will, the freedom to make whatever eternal choice we desire. Any injustice in this life is offset by the honor of choosing our destiny in the next.



Wouldn’t you agree? Would you have wanted otherwise? Would you have preferred the opposite? You choose everything in this life, and He chooses where you spend the next? You choose the size of your nose, the color of your hair, and your DNA structure, and He chooses where you spend eternity? Is that what you would prefer?



It would have been nice if God had let us order life like we order a meal. I’ll take good health and a high IQ. I’ll pass on the music skills, but give me a fast metabolism...Would’ve been nice. But it didn’t happen. When it came to our life on earth, we weren’t given a voice or a vote. But when it comes to life after death, we were. Wouldn’t you agree that this seems like a good deal?



Have we been given any greater privilege than that of choice? Not only does this privilege offset any injustice, the gift of free will can offset any mistakes.



Think about the thief who repented. Though we know little about him, we know this: He made some bad mistakes in life. He chose the wrong crowd, the wrong morals, the wrong behavior. But would you consider his life a waste? Is he spending eternity reaping the fruit of all the bad choices he made? No, just the opposite. He is enjoying the fruit of the one good choice he made. In the end all his bad choices were redeemed by a solitary good one.



We’ve all made some bad choices in life, haven’t we? We’ve chosen the wrong friends, maybe the wrong career, even the wrong spouse. We look back over our life and say, “If only...if only I could make up for those bad choices.” We can. One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth.



The choice is ours.



How can two brothers be born of the same mother, grow up in the same home, and one choose life and the other choose death? We don’t know, but they do.



How could two men see the same Jesus and one choose to mock Him and the other choose to pray to Him? We don’t know, but they did. And when one prayed, Jesus loved him enough to save him. And when the other mocked, Jesus loved him enough to let him.



He allowed him the choice.

He does the same for us.

“So fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone. But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:14-15