“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life…” – Deuteronomy 30:19-20
In today’s post I want to address a very simple, but hugely important idea. Not so much an idea as an observation.
And it is all tied up in one of the most fundamental yet risky privileges we have as human beings, and that is the privilege of choice.
This is one of the things that makes life so sweet and satisfying… potentially. It is the fact that, in any given moment, we have the power to make a choice. All the debates over “nature vs nurture,” and concepts of “fatalism as opposed to free will,” and discussions around “once saved always saved” or “falling from grace” are wasted breath compared to the critical questions: “What am I going to do now?” “How will I respond in this moment?” and “Where is my next step taking me?”
There is only one real question: “What am I going to do next?”
Or, as God put it to the people in Deuteronomy, “Oh, that you would choose life!”
Do we choose life… or hopelessness? Do we choose to yell… or to listen? Do we choose anger… or humility? Do I choose myself… or my children? Do I choose prayer… or profanity? Do I choose peace… or chaos? Do I choose creativity… or negativity? Do I choose love… or misery? Do I choose my family… or self-destruction?
I think sometimes we defeat ourselves ahead of time because we believe we can’t be perfect, so why bother? Of course we can’t be perfect! Perfection is not our job. But we can always choose the next right thing to do, and then the next. And we can choose to follow Jesus and ask for help along the way.
Of course we can’t be perfect! But we can always choose the next right thing to do, and then the next.
In response to the Deuteronomy passage, Jesus offers, “Follow Me.” Jesus is The Way.
- Jesus is The Way to life,
- Jesus is The Truth about life.
- Jesus is Life Itself.
Thomas said, “How can we know the way?” Jesus responds: “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:5-6)…
The prophet Ezekiel offers this solution to the people: “Put all your rebellion behind you! Find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.”
And God punctuates the idea of choice with this compassionate plea: “I don’t want you to die! Turn back and live!”
Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? “I don’t want you to die,” says the Sovereign Lord. “Turn back and live!” – Ezekiel 18:31-32
The choice – our choice – plays out in every moment: Oh, that you would choose life! It is never too late because our next choice is right in front of us: Turn back and live! – DEREK