Counsel #1 — God Respects Our Choice

Picture: Counsel #1 — God Respects Our ChoiceCSe 11.1

The Bible presents one story of life’s history and meaning, while science most commonly offers another version, spreading geological history over millions of years. Friends with differing views diverge based on which story they find more reliable. Each of us must choose, and God grants us this right, respecting our decisions and their resulting outcomes. He governs the universe by love, not power, and love requires the freedom to choose. Though God respects our choices, He cannot alter their natural consequences. Our choices reflect whom we trust. Life centers around relationships, including our relationship with the God of the Bible. We will explore how to make well-informed choices between the Bible’s account and modern science’s alternate version of history.^{[8]https://adventistreview.org/magazine-article/when-it-comes-our-time-to-choose/}CSe 11.2

“I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God's blessing and God's curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life.” Deuteronomy 30:19 GNTCSe 11.3

“All true science is in harmony with His works; all true education leads to obedience to His government. Science opens new wonders to our view; she soars high and explores new depths, but she brings nothing from her research that conflicts with divine revelation. The book of nature and the Written Word shed light upon each other.” Ellen White in From Eternity Past, p. 68CSe 11.4

Reflect: How do your beliefs about the origin of life and the universe impact your values and priorities?CSe 11.5