It's Your Choice

"Don't blame the Lord for your sin; the Lord does not cause what he hates. Don't claim that he has mislead you; he doesn't need the help of sinners to accomplish his purposes. The Lord hates evil in all its forms, and those who fear the Lord find nothing attractive in evil. When, in the beginning, the Lord created human beings. he left them free to do as they wished. If you want to, you can keep the Lord's commands. You can decide whether you will be loyal to him or not. He has placed fire and water before you; reach out and take whichever you want. You have a choice between life and death; you will get whichever you choose. The Lord's wisdom and power are great and he sees everything. He is aware of everything a person does, and he takes care of those who fear him. He has never commanded anyone to be wicked or given anyone permission to sin."   Sirach 15:11~20

I once had an interesting conversation with an American. I asked him, "Why is it that religion is no longer taught in the American public school?"

"To avoid discriminating other religion, and to give the people freedom to choose. God doesn't force His will on the people."

I was taken aback by his last statement. I can't help but agree to it. Indeed God gives us free will, the freedom to choice between life and death. He doesn't impose His will on us, He gives us the power to choose our eternity. To me this is a scary responsibility considering that we are not perfect, and that we have an enemy who is an expert of making us sin against God. But thank God that He sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Now all we have to do is to choose and follow Jesus just as His apostles and disciples chose to follow Him.