No choice.
No choice. Sounds bleak, doesn’t it? But there’s a bright side.
I read this article recently. The author writes that he is tired of the many sermons he has heard that seem to say:
…my problem is, I am told, that life is hard. The reason that life is hard is because I am very wrapped up in my life and trying to do things my own way. But that is okay because there is someone who loves me anyway, and when I think about him, he opens me up to know what I am missing. Love is the only thing left out of my life. And when I think about God, I know what love is. When I know what love is, I can then freely choose it. Then my life will be better.
But the author says, “most of the pain in my life arises from my choices to love rather than not to.” He goes on to list many things he does because of his love: working to provide for his family, trying to show love to the people he interacts with, caring for his family, his grief from losing those he loves, etc., etc.. Do you ever feel that way? “So often in life we aren’t faced with a choice to ‘choose love’ but instead are looking for an ounce of relief because we are crushed by love’s burdens.”
But he says, “The only thing worse than failing to choose love psychologically is the absurdity of actually choosing it.”
Jesus takes all of it, all the mess of real life, and brings it around in the end to show us not just who we will be, but who we are. Forever a sad unloving mess. But also forever in him.
No choice about it. Jesus loves you.
All quotes from “The Gospel is Not Your Happy Ending” by Matt Metevelis, from Mockingbird, September 15, 2025.