Choose life … (Deuteronomy 30:19)The Israelites were just about to enter the Promised Land. Forty years of waiting and wandering had finally come to an end, and Moses was preparing the people for the next phase of their history: the time when God would bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey.So standing before the Israelites, Moses issued them the most important challenge they would ever hear. Would they choose life by following Yahweh’s commands? Or would they choose death by following their own ways and the ways of the nations around them?This challenge didn’t come out of nowhere. Moses had already spent much time reminding them of all the Lord had done. He reminded them how God had delivered them from Egypt and continued to offer them his protection. He spoke of how manna showed up every morning, and quail every evening. He told them that even their clothes did not wear out as they wandered in the desert. But now the time had come for the people to decide for themselves to live under God’s protection. The manna would stop, and so would the quail. God’s miraculous provision would end so that they could choose the way of life, the way of faithful obedience.Today the Lord stands before us and offers us the same call and promise. He is asking us to choose life, not death. He is asking us to follow his commands and share his love with one another. And he is promising that if we do, he will be with us to strengthen us and lift us into his presence.Our God has already performed so many miracles for us: he has risen from the dead; he has opened heaven to us; he has filled us with his Holy Spirit; he has given us every gift and blessing we need for our everyday lives.Now the choice is ours. Will we choose life and live in his presence and know his love? Or will we choose death and live a life of isolation and loneliness?“Father, you are the author of life. I choose to follow you and heed your voice. Thank you for calling me and filling me with your infinite love.”
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