A little different view today, Father – looking out on a putting green at a golf course. Thank You for Your watchcare over us as we traveled to get here, and I lay hold of Your hedge of protection as we head back home. Amen.

John 12:1-10 (<<click here to read the passage)

We are all pretty familiar with what a coin toss is. At some point, we’ve been part of making a decision that way.

Interestingly enough the coin toss goes back centuries. It existed during the rule of the Roman Empire and through the Middle Ages.

Today it is a permanent fixture in everything from high school football games up to the National Football League. (In fact, the coin toss has been a part of professional football since its start in 1892!)

It factored into which Wright brother got to take flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, in the first-ever powered aircraft in December 1903. (Wilbur won, by the way.)

And one more factoid, the naming of what now is Portland, Oregon, came down to a coin toss. Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove, who both owned the land that would become Portland, each wanted to name the new town after their respective hometowns: Boston, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine. Pettygrove prevailed in the 1845 coin toss, and the Oregon city was christened Portland.

Interesting tidbits but in those instances, it is pretty much chance.

Something else that has two possible outcomes, is our eternal destination. But in this instance, there is no chance whatsoever. It is each person’s choice…period.

In these first verses of John 12, we see an example that involves two people – Mary and Judas. Jesus was a part of each of their lives. He influenced each of them but prior to His interaction with them, they each had already established a propensity. It was not destiny. They had a choice.

Mary was thoughtful. She was not wasteful. She gave the best of herself to others.

Judas was deceitful. He was a liar and a thief. He looked out for himself and no one else.

Jesus saw them for who they were. And even knowing what Judas would do…He loved Him. Judas could have chosen – even at the last possible moment – to shift his loyalties. But he didn’t… In the end, he felt he had gone too far to be forgiven. He made his last choice, and no others could be made.

Each of us has a choice. The world and its “treasures” are passing into nothingness. May we choose wisely. Amen.

Aug 9th, 2021, Mon, 12:47 pm