The most important election of our lives

Americans went to the polls on November 4 for the midterm election, and the people elected representatives to lead them. Every one of us also must participate in another ongoing election that is even more important than November 4, and it involves the decision every one of us must make about the First Commandment of God:

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Ex 20:1–6 (ESV)

Every one of us must make a decision about this commandment and decide what they will do with it. Will you exercise your power to choose and serve God as the King of your life, will you delay your decision, or will you choose not to make God your King? Let’s look at what the results are for each of these decisions, and let’s start with the hostile position first.

When you decide to serve something or someone other than God in your life, you have decided to be an idolater. Idolatry in the context of the First Commandment means that you are not serving God, but someone or something else. Idols can be stone figures, but they can also be things like another person, a profession, the things you possess, and the desire to be the captain of your own soul. All of these things displace God from His proper place in your heart and enthrone something else in His place. You cannot serve God and idols; it’s one or the other. The end of this choice is eternal separation from God.

Some people delay giving God the reins of their life. I have heard people justify this by saying things like: “I want to live life first, then I’ll serve God,” “I will do it just before I die,” “I want to keep my options open.” By using critical thinking, it can be easily shown that each of these choices is seriously flawed. Let’s start with the first.

If you want to “live your life first,” what you are saying is that a life with God is boring, unfulfilling or interferes with your desires for pleasure in this life, so it ought to be put off until later. Those who maintain this have never understood that true joy, peace, and fulfillment only come from living for God. Can we really find something better than God in our lifetime? No. When the Apostle Paul met the Lord Yeshua on the Damascus road, he was changed forever. He wrote this after that one encounter with the Lord Yeshua:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Phil 3:7–8 (ESV)

If you decide to wait until the last minute, you are playing a dangerous game. No one knows the length of one’s life, so how can you know when your life is about to expire so you can make a last minute dash for heaven? Hell has a large population of people who decided to wait, only to find out that when life ended, there was no time to get right with God. Life can change in an instant and without warning, so it is never wise to wait until the last minute.

Keeping your options open doesn’t make sense either. This option presupposes the flawed notion that there are other competing philosophies or gods that may offer a better deal. There is only one God however, as it is written:

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

Isaiah 44:6–8 (ESV)

Since there is only one God, then what are you keeping your options open for? There will never be any better offers on the table than the one God has made available. He did everything possible to make reconciliation with you possible, and He has so many wonderful things to show you and share with you; can that be said of anyone else?

Those who reject God altogether will never know the love and care God wants to show them. They have believed that this life is all there is, and that reason has replaced God as the guiding light of life. They do not want to serve God, and so they will inherit a dreadful future “ ‘But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me [God] to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me’ ” Luke 19:27 (ESV).

The most important election we participate in is the one about who we will serve in our life. Will you pursue your own way, or will you make God the master of your life? Only the second choice gives you a life of joy, peace, and fulfillment that this world will never replicate. Serving God as your King results in eternal life and reconciles you with your Creator. He adopts you into His family! If you would like to serve God and make Him your King, follow this prayer:

Heavenly Father, I want to serve You and make you the King of my life. I have rebelled against You by disobeying Your Law, and I ask You to forgive me for all the things I did that offended You (You may add specific offenses you want forgiveness for here). I repent and turn away from these things and make You my Lord and King. I surrender everything to You; do what You want with me and my life. I believe that the Lord Yeshua died for my sins on the cross, and I accept His sacrifice as payment for my sin. Thank You Heavenly Father for forgiving me and loving me. Amen.

If this is your prayer, please let me know about your decision so I can pray for you. You are no longer alone in life; the Lord Yeshua gives you these instructions with a promise:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matt 28:18–20 (ESV)

Bless you, my beloved.