June 2007
MAKING CHOICES
Graduation is upon us. Years of study culminating in
celebration and much deserved recognition of a job
well done. To all of our High School and College
graduates I extend my heart felt congratulations and
prayers for your future. You all have reached an
important milestone in your lives and come to an
important place of transition in your journeys of
life. Choices must be made as to which path you will
follow. From high school, many of you will continue on
to college; some will move into the work force. After
college you stand at the threshold of the rest of your
life. You see many paths before you; which will you
chose? William J. Bryan once said “Destiny is not a
matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not
a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be
achieved.” The key is to choose wisely.
Life is filled with choices. Countless choices come
before us every day. Some choices are relatively
insignificant. Many other choices carry consequences
that will impact the rest of our lives; still others
bare eternal consequence. Even deciding not to make a
choice is, in fact, a choice in itself. Scripture
offers us warning and wise instruction in Proverbs
1:29-33 which says “Since they hated knowledge and did
not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not
accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat
the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit
of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple
will kill them, and the complacency of fools will
destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in
safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” Every
day the choice between good and evil is presented to
us in deceptively simple ways.
Most every person can look back on their past and
recall choices they wish they had made and others they
wish they hadn’t. Regrets are a fruit of bad choices.
There is much we can learn from past mistakes and the
poor choices we make, but we are not to live in the
past with regrets; life is before us, not behind us.
Someone once said, “Every moment you have a choice,
regardless of what has happened before. Choose right
now to move forward, positively and confidently into
your incredible future.” And your future will be
incredible if you are willing to choose right now –
that is this moment, but also choose “rightly” from
this moment on.
Jesus promised in John 14 that if we love him and
obey his teachings, he will make his home with us. In
him we will find peace and love and joy. We will find
contentment and fullness of life with no regrets.
Therefore follow this wise council, “choose to love –
rather than hate. Choose to smile – rather than frown.
Choose to build – rather than destroy. Choose to
persevere – rather than quit. Choose to praise –
rather than gossip. Choose to heal – rather than
wound. Choose to give – rather than grasp. Choose to
act – rather than delay. Choose to forgive – rather
than curse. Choose to pray – rather than despair.”
Choose happiness – rather than regret. Choose Christ
– rather than fall prey to the things of the world;
things that trap and destroy. Live life to its fullest
potential; in all you choose, choose wisely.
Grace and Peace, The Rev. Rob Hughes
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O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing