For five hundred years Rome was a Republic, and then one day, because of one man, it wasn’t
By law, on penalty of execution, no force of soldiers could come closer to the great city of Rome than the Rubicon river. Yet one man, of strength of will, and great in presence if not in character, illegally marched his army across the line that separated the world of the military, from the world of the political, that line, that barrier, was the Rubicon river, and this is where we get the (sadly forgotten) English expression “crossing the Rubicon” or “to cross the Rubicon”
To cross the Rubicon is the point in an endeavor when one has committed fully, when one can no longer turn back, when win or die are the only alternatives.
January 10th 49 BC, Caesar fords the cold stream of the Rubicon atop his horse, turns to his men and bellows “alea iacta est”, in English that would be, “the die is cast”. He has made his move; fate will decide the rest.
None of this is to claim Caesar was a good man, or even that the Empire he gave birth to had any particular redeeming features, other than being the one into which our Saviour was born. However, it is to say that he was a man of action and a man who understood he must commit to his purpose and that once he did, he would be at the mercy of his fickle gods. We have the luxury of his great example of casting the dice, but unlike him, we do not then have to trust in the benevolence of some fickle Fate…
“Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” – Proverbs 16:3
Go read the parable of the Talents brothers, then cast your dice. Begin the work, and trust God to establish your plans. He probably won’t do much for you if you aren’t willing to even roll for Him.