The Destiny of Decisions

My daughter and I had a good conversation yesterday. My wife and I watch our youngest grandkids during the week, from when they get off the school bus at our house until my daughter or son-in-law gets off work.

My daughter just decided to change jobs. She used me a few times to be a sounding board, but she owns her decisions. When she told me what she decided, it got me thinking. We make decisions, but once they are born, they take on a life of their own. We don’t see our future, nor can we see the domino effect from our decision as it spreads out through time and location.

After we have lived awhile, we learn cause and effect. We begin to learn to watch for the effects that were caused by our decisions. Some are good. Learning “delayed gratification” is good. Some can be bad. Always voicing in conversations that you were right often leads to no friends.

In our daily walk where we rub shoulders with people who are dealing with their eternity, the survival of a marriage, the possibility of suicide, choices about employment, bitterness, unforgiveness, financial ruin, or an unwanted pregnancy¹, all hang on a decision that has a destiny.

In many Christian circles, the word “destiny” stirs up strong opinions. I won’t mess with your opinion if you don’t mess with mine. Still, in most English translations of the Bible, this word is used directly several times and inferred many more. For example:

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:9 ESV

The “destined” are the people who give their hearts and lives to Jesus. With God in us, we make decisions that have eternal destinies. Accepting the Holy Spirit’s call to salvation changes our direction (repentance), our thoughts and actions, and ultimately, where our eternal home is. Along the way, we “bear fruit.” We give to the poor, we help the hurting, we rejoice in the gladness of others, we strive to be like Christ Jesus. We pray, we serve, we sacrifice, we surrender, and much more. Each of these decisions propagates across time and location.

Many years from now, in a country on the other side of the Earth, someone may choose a marriage partner because of a decision you make today. Even better, many people in many nations may hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ because of a decision born from you today. We can never know all that happens from a single decision.

1. Stephen D. Elliott, D. Min. (2019, December 9). Kingswood University. https://www.kingswood.edu/staff/stephen-d-elliott-d-min ↩︎