By Kelly Cilano

Intentions are the forerunners of decisions. Indecision is the chaos that clutches clarity and produces impotency.

Ever been there?  I have.

Sometimes decisions carry so much weight that you can’t bear it. Try as you may, there just isn’t a clear-cut easy answer, or one that is at least somewhat likeable.

No, some decisions are just plain difficult, and there isn’t any way around it. 

Jesus made difficult decisions. As you look closely at His life, you will see He made lots of them.

He often did miracles that produced unintended results. Mind you: I didn’t say He wasn’t aware of all the ramifications. But He chose to do it anyway, despite the outcome.

Case in point: the blind man in John chapter 9. Jesus was interested in healing as an act of the Father’s love for that particular young man, but it made the Pharisees hopping mad.

I really don’t think Jesus took any joy in angering the Pharisees yet again, but they were angry just the same. Their self righteous sin blinded them to the bigger picture, which is God’s love.

In every miracle, God’s love is evident in some form and for almost every miracle performed there is some kind of sinful aggression against it.

When Jesus was crucified, the Pharisees mocked Him even after He asked His Father to forgive them.

“He saved others,” they said. “Let Him save Himself if he is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

Now think about that statement. It makes a lot of sense, right? After all, if something is chosen by God, it has to turn out good.

And good by our definition is usually a pain-free, happy outcome – so what’s wrong with that?

Well for starters, it is limited to this temporal time frame. It only lasts for a season before it is encroached upon by more problems waiting around the corner.

Second, it may feel great, but unfortunately most of life’s lessons involve pain because we learn more that way and we remember it longer.

Thirdly, most happiness is pretty earthbound and won’t transfer into eternity.

Go back and look at that mockery again. At first it seems like a foolish statement because Jesus could call down a host of angels and the whole thing would be over.

He would be saved, and we…? We would be lost.

That was the most difficult of decisions. Jesus could not save Himself and save us, too.

Yes, the whole thing could have easily been over, had it not been for His love.

There are lots of difficult decisions in this life.

Choosing to stay married when it is all but over; working in a job that you hate, but that you need to provide for your family; caring for an elderly parent who has a chronic illness. The list is endless.

When facing that difficult decision, don’t listen to the well-intentioned do-what’s-right-for-you song and dance. The song ends quickly and the dance leaves you alone to face the consequences of another bad decision made with just the temporary fix in mind.

Study the example of Jesus, and listen to what he told us in John 15:17: “These things I command you, that you love one another.”

I won’t say it isn’t painful, but the rewards will last an eternity.