Have you made a very bad decision with long-lasting effects? Have you ever been chastised for making a bad decision? Did you realize it was a bad decision at the time? Did you make the decision based on a selfish desire, based on what you wanted? Would you change your decision today?
We all make bad decisions at some point in our lives. Some are worse than others. But it is the bad decision we made out of selfishness that we knew was bad at the time that often comes back to haunt us the most. When it becomes public knowledge, it just gets worse.
The Jewish leadership and Jerusalem populace had made a very bad decision to condemn Jesus to the cross. They had not merely enticed Pilate in the decision but had forced him into it. Otherwise, he would have had an uprising on his hands. Let’s not misunderstand. Pilate was not against using violence to keep the people in line. However, it was one thing to be forceful with a handful of people and another to have to deal with hundreds of them at once.
The apostles did not blame Pilate; they blamed their fellow Jews. Despite their decision, God used it to carry out his plan. Peter tells them that their decision fulfilled prophecy. But it still had to sting. To know you condemned a person you knew was innocent to death, that God had said it would happen through the prophets, and to know God was going to condemn you for it had to be very disturbing.
The Jews of that time had another choice to make. They could continue in obstinacy, refusing to repent, or they could repent and beg forgiveness. We, too, have that same choice when we make a bad decision. We can confess our mistake. We can ask for forgiveness. And we can turn from our wayward ways. When we do, we can be confident that God forgives us.
I pray we all own up to bad decisions we make. I pray we ask for forgiveness. I pray each one of us know that God is willing to forgive when we come to him with a repentant heart. Own your bad decisions. Confess them. Ask for forgiveness. Know that God will forgive you.
Acts 4:11-12 This Jesus is
‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.’
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”
Marty Pressey 