Daily Wisdom 01-07-2002 The Choice is Yours

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The Choice is Yours

My friend Kenny is a used car dealer. He's also a committed Christian. He has a sign out front that says, "Heaven Or Hell, the choice is yours." A lot of Kenny's customers are curious about the sign. Kenny says it sparks a lot of conversations that allow him to share his faith with others.I thought of Kenny's sign awhile back when I watched a re-run of an episode of the popular Seinfeld show.In the episode, Elaine borrows boyfriend David Puddy's car. She's surprised to find all of the radio preset buttons tuned to Christian stations. She expresses her surprise to Jerry and George and wonders if Puddy really is a Christian. She even steals the "Jesus Fish" from the back of his car to show them as evidence of her suspicions.

Always trying to find a solution that includes good humor, George and Jerry advise her to tune the radio buttons to different settings before taking the car back to see what happens. Sure enough, a few weeks later she borrows Puddy's car again and all of the settings are back on Christian stations. When she shares this with George and Jerry, she wonders aloud, "Perhaps Puddy has more depth that I thought."

Later she confronts Puddy and, realizing her own lack of a relationship with God, starts asking about his faith. Eventually, she poses the question, "Puddy, aren't you at all concerned about my lack of faith." Without pausing he replies, "No." When she asks why, he calmly replies, "Because I'm not the one who's going to go to hell."We are all free agents. We are responsible for our own decision when it comes to Christ. While it was played for dramatic effect by the Seinfeld scriptwriters, there is a great deal of truth in Puddy's stance. Each of us, as individuals, is called to make a decision about the one we call Christ. No one else can make that decision for you.

When you die and you are asked why you should be allowed to enter heaven, it won't be what your friend says that matters. It's what you say. Can you claim that it is because Christ died for you and you have accepted his resurrection on faith? As my friend Kenny would say, "Heaven or Hell, the Choice is yours."

COPYRIGHT 2003 Key Life NETWORK. INC.Today's Daily Wisdom is by Steve Brown. His daily radio ministry is heard on stations nationally through the Key Life Network. To find his program on a station near you go to www.keylife.org.

Today's Daily Wisdom post was edited by Keith Todd, moderator of theSermon Fodder list which offers Christian humor and modern day parables forenjoyment and for use as sermon illustration material. To subscribe go to http://www.sermonfodder.com or drop an email note to Sermon_Fodder-subscribe@yahoogroups.com