Many religions are Fatalistic—that is, the overriding attitude of those who believe this way is, “Que Sera, Sera,” which was a song sung by Doris Day in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, The Man Who Knew Too Much. [The song reached number two on American charts and number one in the United Kingdom the same year the movie was released—1956.] The phrase simply means, “Whatever Will Be Will Be.”
Is there some impersonal force guiding the world somewhere somehow? Or does life consist of random influences, subject to change when the wind shifts directions? Fortunes rise, and fortunes fall, and mankind is pretty much at the whim of Destiny or Fate. If such were true, then it would not really matter what a person thought or did because our choices would not really matter. The poet, Robert Frost, in “The Road Not Taken,” disagreed. His famous concluding lines are:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
One message of this poem is that, “Choice makes a difference.” O. Henry’s short story, on the other hand, portrays the opposite idea. In “Roads of Destiny,” the luckless poet, who is the main character, ends up dead no matter which of the three roads he travels. The poor fellow could not win for losing. Is doing evil the same as practicing righteousness? Do we really not have any choices of consequence in life?
The Bible proclaims that we do. Joshua gave Israel a choice that would affect their entire future (Joshua 24:14-15). They chose wisely initially, although future generations would choose to live foolishly. Previously, Moses had recorded a similar challenge:
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deut. 30:19).
Many years later, Ezekiel would write of God’s pleading with Judah to repent. Two waves of captivity had already occurred, and the third and final one was just a few years away. God said:
“Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezek. 18:31).
They were making the wrong choice—one that would result in famine, being put to death with the sword, or captivity. But the point is that they had a choice to make. God gave us the freedom to choose life or death, which means Fate has not locked us in.
When arising in the morning, one notices, while walking through the neighborhood, how renewed all things have become. The air smells fresh; dew is on the ground, and yesterday’s troubles seem distant. It’s a new opportunity to make better choices than the ones we made yesterday. We often think of beginning a new year with resolutions that are calculated to im-prove ourselves, but really that opportunity arises each day when we lift our heads off the pillow.
What is the sin that we are determined to give up once and for all? How much better are we going to be with respect to self-control? By how much are we going to improve our disposition? To what greater extent will we be thinking evangelistically? Will this be the day that we begin to be more thoughtful of others? Will we discover once and for all that, despite what external pressures and adversity come our way, we have the final say and can make the proper choices?
It would be depressing indeed to be a Fatalist—to have the view that no matter how hard we try, every-thing depends on Chance. Good decisions and good actions matter not at all. How much more positive it is to know that God works all things together for good to those who love Him (Rom. 8:28). Every day we have the opportunity to repent of sin, get our lives in order, and glorify God as He deserves. In the New Testa-ment we see new beginnings with many people who came in contact with Jesus.
Even though physical ailments may limit some choices, we still have them. Very early in His ministry, Jesus met (in a rather unusual manner) a man who was paralyzed. Finding it impossible to enter the house where Jesus was teaching, they transported the man to the roof, cut a hole in it, and lowered him into the presence of Jesus, where He made him able to walk again (Mark 2:1-12). Having that physical ailment removed gave the man many more choices in life than he possessed previously. He might now be able to labor in various jobs that required standing, walking, running, or lifting. He experienced a new beginning and hopefully learned the gospel as well.
The man who was born blind likewise obtained many more options in life. He could not only now see, but he defended Jesus as well before the Lord’s ene-mies (John 9). Lazarus (and others whom Jesus had raised from the dead) obviously received a new lease on life. How many people have departed from this earth wishing they had turned to God? Someday, they were going to obey the gospel, but someday never came. Someday, they planned to repent, but death came first.
Jesus benefited many people’s lives when He healed them of their physical infirmities. But even better served were those who made new beginnings in a spiritual way. Consider, for example, the woman at the well from John 4. She had been married five times and was currently living with a man who was not her husband (18). She seems to have been fairly astute and not altogether uninterested in spiritual matters. She asked where was the proper place to worship—on the mountain where they were talking or in Jerusalem.
She probably did not expect Jesus to say that the place would soon be unimportant—and that true worshipers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth (21-24). The woman apparently associated such a change with the coming of the Messiah. Was she surprised when Jesus identified Himself as that very individual (25-26)? She left her water pot behind, went into the city, and began announcing, “Come, see a man who told me all the things I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (28-29).
Notice that she did not just return home and say to her “partner”: “A strange thing happened today at the well.” Then, after recounting the incident, she did not merely conclude, “I wonder if tomorrow will be as interesting.” Instead, the conversation with Jesus was a life-changing one. Jesus revealed things about herself to her that He had no way of knowing. He had not engaged her on the age-old question of where to worship but said it would no longer matter. He had confessed to being the Messiah. She not only became convinced of that fact; she happily communicated what she believed to others. She aroused such a curiosity in them that they went out to meet Jesus themselves, which caused them to be even more convinced than they already were (39-42).
What happened to this woman? We do not see her again—that we know of. It would be devastating to our image of her if she went back to living immorally after having come face to face with the Messiah—although more than a few individuals have chosen fleshly companionship over the blessings of Heaven in their “gold-en” years when they were not far from eternity. Others have rejoiced greatly about having the opportunity for a new beginning—only to later reject it. Perhaps she eventually became one of the women who followed along with Jesus and His disciples. Or she may have remained in Samaria, living independently, and remaining one of the faithful there. No one wants to imagine that she squandered her opportunity for a fresh start.
The same situation exists for another nameless woman who was apparently overwhelmed by the per-son and character of Jesus. The account occurs in Luke 7:37. The text only says that she was a sinner in the city and that others knew of her reputation. Considering the times, this description might suggest that she was a harlot. She knew where Jesus was, and apparently she knew Who He was, also. Although the text does not explain it this way precisely, it implies that she went to the Pharisee’s house because she wanted to repent. She brought with her “an alabaster flask of fragrant oil” (37). She
stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil (38).
The only explanation that comes to mind for her behavior is that she realized that she was in the presence of One Who was genuinely holy. Even the thought of the Lord’s purity—compared to her own sinfulness and corruption was enough to reduce her to tears. If anyone ever felt the need to repent, it was this woman. Simon the Pharisee failed to see the spiritual tenderness that was occurring before his eyes. He was critical in his thoughts; he could only see her as a sinner—not some-one who was at the beginning of a new life (39).
Jesus points out to him his deficiencies (40-46). Then of the woman Jesus made a pronouncement: “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many are forgiven…” (47). He further said to her, “Your sins are forgiven” (48). What joy must have filled her heart! It may be that this guarantee was more than she had hoped to receive. Whatever she was guilty of had been forgiven—and by a righteous man—even the Son of God. He spoke one last assurance to her: “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (50). No matter how badly one has sinned, Jesus stands ready to grant forgiveness and a new life to the spiritually downtrodden.
For little children Zacchaeus is famous for being “a wee little man,” a fact which is worth noting. Because he wanted to see Jesus, he climbed up into the sycamore tree that everyone has heard about. He got more than what he wanted: Not only did he see Jesus, but even more importantly Jesus saw him—and did an unusual thing; He invited Himself to stay at Zacchaeus’ house. The tax collector was elated rather than being offended, and he received Him joyfully (Luke 19:6).
The negative-thinking, critically-minded Jews, instead of seeing this as a great opportunity, were insulted. How despicable was it to go to the home of one who collected taxes and probably stole money from honest folks! Jesus does not defend Zacchaeus as he did the sinful woman. The man short in stature proved to be tall in faith, and he spoke for himself. He not only was going to give half his goods to the poor, he would restore four times as much of anything he had stolen. How could the opponents of Jesus say anything negative about that? Jesus said, in light of Zacchaeus’ intentions, “Today salvation has come to this house…” (9). The tax collector saw an opportunity for a fresh start and took it. How blessed would everyone be who embraced Jesus and His teachings, choosing a new beginning.