Decisions, Decisions
John Cyr
I remember one of the early computer games I played was “The Oregon Trail” game. WIth the what now seems a very simplistic interface, the user needed to make lots of decisions for his virtual trip from Missouri to Oregon. Decisions included what supplies to bring, when to start, which trail to follow, any shortcuts that could be taken, when and where to cross rivers, and so on. I remember not making it to Oregon most of the time because I died from disease, ran out of supplies, got lost, or some other reason. My outcome was based on the decisions I made starting and during the virtual trip across the American plains and mountains.
My wife and I recently took an actual trip from Kansas to Oregon following the Oregon trail as closely as we could (in a car as opposed to a covered wagon). As we crossed the plains and mountains in the comfort of a car at 70-80 mph, reality sunk in on the hard decisions that the pioneers did have to make. And they had to make so many decisions each day that were life or death decisions. We listened to a diary of a pioneer who went west in the early 1860’s. She shared how her friend in a different family became very sick. Her friend’s father had a hard decision to make: does he stop for a while so his daughter can recover? Or move on with the wagon train? If he stops, the rest of the wagon train goes on without him, leaving he and his family by themselves which increased their danger of getting lost or getting attacked. If he continues on with the wagon train, he risks the health of his daughter. He ultimately chose to move on with the wagon train and his daughter ultimately passed away from her illness. In 1846, the Donner party made a decision to take a shortcut through the Sierra Nevadas to get to California quicker. As we all know, that decision ended up in a disaster as nearly half the party died and some resorted to cannibalism to survive.
In our modern world, we generally don’t face the decisions that the pioneers had to make in the mid-19th century crossing the country. Generally ‘big’ decisions that we face are: do we attend college? If so, which college should we attend?, who should I marry?, where should I work?, etc. While these are not life or death decisions there is one decision that we do have to make that has eternal consequences. And what is that decision? That decision is to whether to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we do make that decision, then we are promised eternal life in heaven. If we choose not to follow Jesus, then we are promised eternal life in hell.
In John 14:6, Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through Me”. Have you made the decision to follow Jesus? Or are you putting that decision off or making a decision to follow another path? If you haven’t, please, please consider putting your trust in Jesus. It is a decision that I guarantee you will not regret. While the decisions the pioneers had to make on a daily basis were life or death decisions, it was their physical life here on earth that was affected. Each of us has a decision to make that has eternal consequences! Will you consider making the most important decision in your life and put your trust in Jesus? I pray that you do. Our eternal outcome is fully dependent upon this decision.
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal” – C. S. Lewis