So many often miss the beauty of choice in salvation’s plan.

Why would an almighty God who is in control of all things allow a person to experience eternal death? Why wouldn’t He just force us to repent and believe in His Son so that they would escape the horrible wages of sin?

The answer is because of His love.

When we love someone, we don’t force them to act or think in a certain way. We hope to gain their affection. We yearn to receive their time and attention, but true love is not forceful. Love in its purest form is patient, gentle, and kind (1 Cor. 13:4).

The cross was a choice. Jesus could have chosen to escape at any time. It was His choice that His hands and feet were nailed to the cross. It was His choice that His side was pierced. It was His choice that he wore a crown of thorns. The motivator driving His choices was His great, unending, infinite love for us. He hoped that we would see this picture of love and believe in Him as the son of God. This motivated him to commit to the choice to die for our sin. There was no other way for us to live forever with Him.

Adam and Eve made a choice to disobey God’s law which was to abstain from eating fruit from one specific tree- the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Before this choice, Adam and Eve could live forever with God in his perfect garden, and nothing prohibited their fellowship. This choice to eat of the forbidden fruit was the first sin known to man. Every human born after this moment in time would inherit this sin and have to die. We had no choice in our inherited sin as descendants of Adam and Eve. God knew this would be our fate, and He made a way long before the fruit was tasted so that we could spend eternity with Him.

It is my prayer that every person who feels the emptiness and void within will realize sooner than later that the only thing to fill it is Christ. Many things in this world attempt to make us feel complete, satisfied, or satiated, but that fullness is only for a season. My prayer is that people will find this truth for themselves, make the choice to try on this gospel of peace, and see its potential to fill the void. No one is going to force Jesus on you, not even Himself. It’s entirely up to you to seek Him. However, you can rest assured that He is already waiting for you right where you are. You just have to choose to seek Him. He is the only way to true peace, security, and eternal life (John 14:6).