"When we see the familiar icon of three crosses in a row, it should remind us that God offers a choice."

A thought by Steven Furtick from his book, Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus (p. 40). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Yes, he does. 

Steven says, “Like one of the criminals who occupied a cross beside Jesus, we can remain hostile toward God to the end. Or like the other criminal, we can turn to Jesus for mercy. The difference in the outcomes between those two possible choices is as extreme as it could possibly be.”

He goes on, “Despite Jesus’s incredibly merciful prayer for the Father to forgive those responsible for his murder, there was a strange outbreak of malice shortly after he was crucified. It was as if God had taken the leash off the wild dogs, and now the devil had set them barking around the cross. That’s the thanks Jesus got for understanding these people’s ignorance and asking the Father to forgive them.

“Jesus faced a lot of mocking and jeering. But apparently, the devil doesn’t have much of a sense of humor, because Jesus’s critics at the cross had only one lousy joke among them. (Psalm 22:6-8)

“The Jewish rulers standing nearby sneered at him. ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.’ (Luke 23:35) The Roman soldiers copied this jest, putting it in more political than religious terms. They said to Jesus, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’ (Luke 23:37)”

Jesus also had a choice.  Steven says, “These mockers didn’t know it, but they presented Jesus with an impossible alternative. Saving himself was the only thing Jesus couldn’t do, not if he was going to be true to his mission. He came to seek and save the lost—you and me. And he could not save us if he saved himself from the cross. So, Jesus kept silent in the face of the injustice and cruelty while the countdown clock to his death continued to tick.”

Later Steven says, “You see, all of us were enemies of God at one time. (Romans 5:6-10) We may never have been outright God mockers, but by going our own way and resisting him, we have thrown his grace back in his face. We need the gift of faith to receive salvation and be changed from God’s enemies into his friends.”

And that is our choice, to be God’s enemy or his friend, a choice we have because of what Christ chose to do for us.  So, have you at some time in your life chosen him to be your friend, have you asked for and accepted the gift of faith to receive his salvation?  Have you?  If not, will you ask and accept it today?  Will you?

Yes, yes!