Choose Life

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

(Deuteronomy 30:15-20)

We make a thousand decisions a day, and most of them aren't a huge deal. However, there are some decisions we make that are literally life and death. Perhaps not physically (although that is the case at times as well), but spiritually or relationally.

Can you imagine how frustrating it must be for God when He continually watches one of His children make the wrong decisions, choosing death over and over again? Death to relationships. Death to their consciences. Death to their innocence. Crucifying the Lord all over again (Heb. 6:6). Grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30).

Does He still feel the nails
everytime I fail?
Can He hear the crowd cry, "Cucify!" again?
Am I causing Him pain?
Then I know I've got to change,
'cause I just can't stand the thought of hurting Him.

(Feel the Nails, by Ray Boltz)


He calls, even begs us to choose life. He already took care of the death for us.