A WISE AND WONDERFUL CHOICE

Archaeologists are trained to make judgments about the accomplishments of ancient civilizations based on the artifacts which have survived the ravishings and rustings of time; labeling one very lengthy era as ‘Stone Age’ because of a few simple tools which have been uncovered, dated and categorized and branding another ‘Industrial’ to describe men’s actions as they began to desert their home-farms and congregate together in cities around factories in order to facilitate the production of goods.

I am among those who feel a little uneasy about the premise of archeology which records the accomplishments of mortals based on a few material droppings.

How grateful we should be that our loving Heavenly Father is not a fanatical archeologist. We should give continual thanks that He will never make sweeping generalizations about the accomplishments of His children based on the accumulations of their peers. We should find comfort knowing that each child’s life will be judged independently according to their own efforts, accomplishments and progress.

This individualistic concern of our Father in Heaven was dramatically demonstrated in the biblical history of the of the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Through a vision he promised Abraham that if but tem righteous could be found in the cities, all the inhabitants would be spared for their sakes. As things turned out only the families of his cousin Lot were spared as the heavens rained fire.

It is one of the truly good news’ of the gospel, that even though we might have our time on earth in an era when mankind is practicing dehumanizing lifestyles, our worthiness for a place in God’s Kingdom will be judged solely on our personal adherence to His revealed principles.

Elijah long ago invited the people of his day to choose between Jehovah and Baal.
Just as in those long ago days, we must likewise learn to clarify righteous priorities.

We can no more walk in two divergent paths in comfort than ancient Israel could attempt to serve both false idols and the true God and still remain a covenant people.

Daily we must decide if ‘making the sale’ is more important than remaining totally honest in our dealings.
We must constantly determine whether we will fill our minds with vulgarity of dominate our thoughts with purity.

Do we interact with our fellows in shadows of the profane or do we walk well on the right side of the line of integrity?
Has the ‘social register’ become a more important gauge of our worth than the barometer which measures how well we are serving our fellows?

Joshua declared that these decisions were not to be tarried upon, but that they should be made today.

It is today that we must decide whether we desire our lives to be judged by some future digger as he examines the plastics and polyesters which have been accumulated in mountainous heaps throughout the lands.

It is today that we must live our lives with a desire to be judged by a loving Heavenly Father who will search our individual souls and with His infinite wisdom, mercy and omniscience be able to view with total clarity and absolute reality what we each have become.

We must always remember that He will never determine our level of advancement by inventorying the material stuff we had accumulated, but will scrutinize our souls to see how close we have come to emulating the attributes of our Celestial Parents.

We will find comfort that He will never look at the ‘Jones next door’ in order to determine how far I have come, but will always judge me according to my personal abilities, opportunities and progress.