Life is full of choices. Every day we decide where we’re going, what we’re eating, when we’re leaving, what we’re watching – there are choices everywhere. Sometimes they’re fun, sometimes they’re exhausting.
There’s a story about Herbert Asquith, the former Prime Minister, who once spent a weekend with the Rothschild family. At teatime the butler approached him with a level of choice that could only happen in the world of the very wealthy:
“Tea, coffee, or a peach from off the wall, sir?”
“Tea, please.”
“China, India, or Ceylon, sir?”
“China, please.”
“Lemon, milk, or cream, sir?”
“Milk, please.”
“Jersey, Hereford, or Shorthorn, sir?”
Sometimes choice goes too far. You walk into a shop and want everything or you can open a restaurant menu and want everything. Choice can be wonderful but it can also be hard!
Our readings today (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23/ Romans 8:1-11) are all about choice, but not the “China, India, or Ceylon?” kind. They’re about the choices that shape a life.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that in Christ we are set free – we are free from sin, free from condemnation, free to live a new kind of life. But that freedom is not automatic. It’s chosen and it’s about a relationship. It’s the freedom that comes from choosing Jesus, choosing to walk with him, choosing to trust him. It’s about taking a step forward, confident that God takes the step with us.
And in the gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus tells the famous parable of the sower, a story that is really all about the choices we make in our relationship with God.
When Jesus talks about “seed,” he’s really talking about the life of faith itself. He is talking about the beginnings of trust, the first stirrings of belief, that small but precious spark God plants in every one of us.
And like any seed, it can only grow if it lands somewhere it can take root. The soil in the story is our heart, our choices, our priorities. So, the parable isn’t about farming at all but it’s about the different ways people respond to God, and how those responses shape whether faith flourishes or fades.
The parable describes it in this way:
Some of the seed that is sown falls on the path where there is no depth and no growth.
Some falls on rocky ground where there is quick excitement, but no endurance.
Some falls among thorns where faith is tangled up with distractions, temptations, and the busyness of life.
And some falls on good soil where there is slow, steady growth that becomes strong and fruitful.
Jesus is describing different kinds of hearts, different kinds of choices. Faith doesn’t just “happen” to us. It grows because we choose to nurture it. Like any relationship, it needs attention, time, honesty, and perseverance. There will be easy times and hard times but the choice to keep walking with God is what makes faith real.
Someone once said:
At the close of life, the question will not be,
“How much have you gained?” but “How much have you given?”
Not “How much have you won?” but “How much have you done?”
Not “How much have you saved?” but “How much have you sacrificed?”
It will be “How much have you loved and served,” not “How much were you honoured?”
That’s the heart of following Jesus. It’s not about status or success. It’s about love, sacrifice and the service and faith that builds a relationship and leads us into eternal life.
When we see faith like that, the choice to follow Jesus stops feeling like a burden and starts feeling like an invitation, an invitation into something beautiful, something life‑giving, something too good to miss. And that’s an important reminder for all of us – because sometimes we get so bogged down with church and we can lose sight of why we come here in the first place… And what an awesome God we have…
I really like sport and sport, strangely enough, teaches us a lot about faith.
Firstly, it requires sacrifice. A good athlete gives everything - time, energy, sleep, comfort - all for the prize. They don’t aim for “a little bit” of commitment. They go all in.
And faith is the same. Jesus didn’t call people to be “little bit” disciples, a little bit of prayer, a little bit of kindness, a little bit of church when it suits. He calls us to give our whole selves. As someone once said, “If Jesus is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all.”
We can talk about the needs of the world. We can pray for change. But Jesus also calls us to be the change, to be his presence in the world, to stand up for what is right, to live differently, to love sacrificially. That’s the choice of discipleship. It is costly, but never forget the privilege we have in that cost.
Secondly sport can break your heart! Not just because your team loses, but because sometimes the whole system feels shaky. I’m not sure whether many of you have been watching the World Cup but earlier this week there was a controversy when Donald Trump appeared to intervene to help overturn a red card given to Folarin Balogun, the US player. Suddenly people weren’t sure what was real, what was political, what was fair. Fans felt confused, disillusioned, unsure where to place their trust.
Faith can feel like that sometimes. People fail. Churches fail. Christians fail. We get things wrong. We hurt each other. We disappoint each other.
But there is a difference. In sport, when things fall apart, you just try to move on. In faith, God actually gives us a fresh start. We don’t pretend it didn’t happen - we repent, we heal, we begin again. Grace means we really can start afresh.
Thirdly sacrifice makes sport inspiring, and again with faith, people will watch sacrifice and they’ll notice when someone goes beyond the ordinary for something or someone.
Some of you may remember back in 2016, during the Triathlon World Series, Jonny Brownlee collapsed with exhaustion just metres from the finish line. His brother Alistair didn’t think twice - instead of sprinting past to secure his own place, he stopped, lifted Jonny up, and carried him over the line.
It was one of those moments that made the whole country watch and it wasn’t because of winning, but because of love, loyalty, and sheer self‑giving commitment.
That’s what people admire. And when Christians live with that same spirit, not for our own glory, but to bring glory to God, people notice. They see something real, something different and something worth listening to.
Back to choices! Every day we make choices. Some are tiny. Some are life‑changing. But the most important choice we ever make is how we respond to Jesus.
Do we want to be seed on the path - faith with no depth?
Seed on rocky ground - faith that collapses under pressure?
Seed among thorns - faith choked by distraction?
Or seed in good soil - faith that grows, strengthens, and bears fruit?
Jesus chose the way of love, a revolutionary, self‑giving love that led him to the cross. And he chose us. And now he invites us to choose him.
Not out of fear or out of duty. But out of hope.
Hope that life with him is richer, deeper, freer. Hope that his grace really will change us.
Hope that his love really is stronger, more powerful and more lasting than anything else.
May God give us the courage to choose him today, the strength to follow him tomorrow, and the joy of knowing that whatever happens day by day, we walk in the care of God who never lets us go. Amen.
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