Choose Life
Open Your Bible
Deuteronomy 30:1-20, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Romans 10:6-10
BY Kara Gause
I used to think of free will as a sort of choose-your-own adventure kind of thing. Remember those books? I always had the sense that maybe the stories would be stronger if the real author were to just choose the best ending for the protagonist, because surely they knew the best outcome and most “adventurous” route to get there.
When I applied that logic to my own life and relationship with God, a game of chess came to mind. If God knows all, including how this whole story ends, and will accomplish His ultimate will in the end, then do my choices really matter? Do I matter? (Incidentally, I don’t recommend pondering these things with the dawn, before that first wave of caffeine hits.)
Applying this flat, and admittedly, flawed logic to Scripture only weakens my relationship with God because there’s no relational aspect to it—and our God is very relational. That’s true today, and it was true when Moses and the Levitical priests were imploring with Israel to obey God and keep His commands. They laid out the blessing of choosing God and the utter destruction of choosing anything apart from Him (Deuteronomy 27–28).
Even in giving the provision of His law, He offered further provision: a way back to Him, should they choose wrongly and suffer the consequential curses of their choices. And should they “come to [their] senses” (Deuteronomy 30:1), returning to God and obeying Him “with all [their] heart and all [their] soul by doing everything” commanded of them, then He will “restore [their] fortunes” and His compassion will find them, no matter how far away they have strayed (vv.2–4).
Which begs the question: If one path resulted in complete blessing and the other utter destruction, what was the point of giving Israel the choice in the first place? Wouldn’t things be better if God just made them do what was right to avoid the curse altogether? In short: no, because that option is not consistent with who God is and who we are as His image bearers (Genesis 1:27). He is relational, and we are created to live in relationship with Him. We get to choose because things like real faith, love, devotion, and obedience cannot be forced; they must be freely given. He chooses us, and He wants us to choose Him back, to love Him in return.
So it was with Israel. The command to follow God’s law wasn’t “too difficult or beyond [their] reach” (Deuteronomy 30:11). They could choose life, not death, for themselves and future generations (vv.19–20). He later promises to give them, and us, a new heart that beats for Him, and His Spirit to help us choose Him over and over again (Ezekiel 36:26–27). He’s the path to righteousness and life (Romans 10:10). When we choose our loving God, that’s when the real adventure begins.
49 thoughts on "Choose Life"
-
@Madison hopefully today’s reading helped out with that a bit. It’s just like a parent telling a kid not to play in the street. There are two options, but there’s only one choice that preserves life. The child has free will, but choosing to play in the street will ultimately result in death. The wages of sin are death, and God’s law and obedience to Him preserve our life. So often we think of the outcome of sin as punishment when in reality they are consequences. He, just like a good father, gives us the boundaries and rules to protect our bodies, hearts, and minds and to lead us down paths of righteousness that lead to blessings and joy and eventually, eternal life with him. On the other hand, the devil, our adversary, is out to destroy us. It’s up to use to choose. Thankfully, even when we stray the Father is there with open arms.
-
Melanie, that’s such a great reminder to lean on and trust in God. Hard to do when I want control and I need to remember his awesome love for us all. Praying for this tough time for you, that you’ll rest in his love and care for you!
-
Thank you God for chosing me!
-
Amen!!
-
So Thankful this morning for God’s promises, for His Word and for all He gives me through SRT and you my Sisters. I learn from you daily and it is so apparent the living word as you share your insights as there is so much to glean. It strikes me today as this past weekend I gave my grandaughter some choices for a treat, and she refused wanting what she wanted which was not one of the choices she was given. I am trying to give healthier options and really she wanted Skittles. I have no idea, ha ha being diabetic why she would want candy over a fruit slushy, go figure, but when I think of free will I think we really have two choices that which brings life, and that which brings death, to draw closer to God or away from Him. Thus the consequences of sin or the salvation and blessings of our God. Bit God, is compassionate, loving, kind, full of so much grace that He doesn’t withhold the Skittles, but let’s us choose the blessings, and finds us when we are stuck in our wrong choices, much worse than tooth decay, and as the Prodigal Father runs to us to wrap His love around us and bring us back to Himself. So many distractions to pull us away, my prayer is that I always choose to stay in the grace and extend it to others. Love you so Sisters. Angie, Absolutely Lovely, I had to copy. Kelly, thank you. ERB, such a blessing daily. Taylor, He’s holding you in His love. Blessed so by you all. Praying His peace like a river for you all my Sisters.
-
God finds me, chooses me, blesses me and wants me to be close to Him. I choose to love the Lord my God.
-
I am so thankful God is all about relationships. I have never really pondered that in the context of free will but I think it is a really good point.
-
So, I’ve been struggling lately with the concept of God’s free will for us and any time I am trying to understand how God might operate I put it in the concept of a parent telling their child something. To me it seems like God gave us free will to choose Him or to not but then went around and punished anyone who didn’t choose him. To me that looks like a parent giving their child 2 options and making it seem like its free will and their choice but then using coercion to get them to make the choice you want them to. I have been a Christian all my life and it still just doesn’t make sense to me.
Post Comments (49)