Only You Can Decide

By David Bragg

    She called it a "merciless bed." The German woman created the device as a foolproof method of getting a person out of bed in time for class. No more repeatedly hitting the snooze button, after the alarm clock rings the bed will begin to slowly lift and if, after five minutes, the sleeper doesn't put their feet on the ground by their own volition the bed will dump them on the floor against their will (news.excite.com).
    If you still need help getting up, you might be interested in trying "The Carpet Alarm Clock." Created by Sofie Collin & Gustav Lanberg, the sleeper sets their alarm clock as usual. However, it will be the carpet (which actually is more like a throw rug), not the clock, that will sound the alarm in the morning. There is no "snooze" feature, the alarm sounding from the carpet will not go off until they physically get up and stand on the carpet (bitrebels.com).
    We live in a high-tech world with devices and trinkets to make our lives easier. Then there are others, like these two inventions, that make for us the difficult choices we are unwilling to make for ourselves. But there is no device or product that will make life's most important choices for us: to love and serve God.
    It is easy to love Jesus as one’s Savior. He took all the abuse from Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate. It was His tears that were shed in Gethsemane. He did all the bleeding and dying. He became the sole, universal sacrifice by taking our sins upon His own shoulders. He did all this to save us!
    The more difficult challenge is to daily allow Jesus to be our Lord. That demands obedience and spiritual growth on a permanent, ongoing daily basis. And it is a choice only you can make. And you make it every day.

- David Bragg serves as one of the ministers at the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC and is co-editor of BulletinGold. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.nwchurchofchrist.com/ or his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/