The Valley of Decision

 The Valley of Decision

I have been thinking quite a bit about the importance of decision making.  I have also been doing quite a bit of background reading on existentialist thought.  John Paul Sartre is one of the most influential thinkers in this field.  He made the famous statement that, “ Existence precedes essence”. Basically this means that we become who we are based on our choices.  Human nature, society, family background are not determinative factors in defining my essence.  What makes me human is to choose.

In Sartre’s world view there is no God.  The world outside ourselves is cold, dark and empty of meaning.  We are the only subjective centers in the universe.  We create meaning by choosing.  I am not a football player until I choose to play football and actually participate in the sport.  To choose to be somebody in a meaningless universe may seem absurd to us as believers.  For the existentialist, it is the only authentic choice in the face of the absurdity of death.

What a different world than the one that claims a living God who, “created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13).  This same God who created us in His image, also calls us to decision.  The call and response to following Jesus does define us.  We have to make that decision continually in the face of our own fallen self absorbed existence.  I confess that when I sing the chorus, “It’s all about you Jesus”, I struggle with it’s all about me!  The voices of existentialists help to remind me that decisions are critical in a culture of antipathy.  We are in the valley of decision as God’s people.  We can enter our culture with a message of hope.  There is a God who knows human existence and can enter our existence with grace and mercy to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16). Let us decide to follow Jesus and we will become truly human.

 

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