(Please refer to the devotional on 1 Tim. 2:4 and the last three devotionals dealing with questions arising from that devotional. Today we publish a further comment sent to our subscriber)

After I slept on it, I had another thought to share with you.  I did not want to "blow off" this comment of yours: "but I don’t think that means that all MY choosing is “fantasy” either …". Obviously not.  We do make choices in life, and those choices have consequences.  I just saw a forwarded video clip of a car speeding through an intersection, striking another car, which in turn was pushed across the street to a pedestrian crossing the street with the light, killing him.  The choice of the driver to speed into an intersection and make a left turn in front of an oncoming car had consequences.  A person who chooses to rob a store may face the consequences in prison, but a person who chooses to help someone in need may produce a chain of very good consequences.  Choices result in works that become causes of some real effects. 

While it is true, as I wrote you last night, that the Bible says virtually nothing about choosing in regard to salvation, the very commands to come to Christ and to believe in Christ involve choices to obey those commands.  However, choices are never made in a vacuum.  We do not make choices for no reason.  We choose, rather, according to our desire.  If we have a choice between a steak dinner with potatoes and gravy over against a choice to eat a pile of garbage that is several days old, it is obvious what we shall choose.  We want (desire) the steak, but we don't want (desire) the garbage.  A pig, on the other hand, might choose the garbage because it is more like the fare he is accustomed to.  As Jonathan Edwards observed, we choose according to our nearest desire.  Alice & I chose to go see the movie "The Queen" yesterday because we wanted to see it, based on our own experiences and interest.

(to be concluded next week)