Choose Life

Deuteronomy 30:11-20 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. 

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” 

Last week we went with the women to where Jesus had been buried, only to find an empty tomb. Then two brilliantly shining men appeared and asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” They were expecting to find a dead body — but Jesus isn’t dead. He is alive!

But Jesus’ resurrection was not the first time that the people of God were instructed to seek life. Now the background of today’s scripture: the book of Deuteronomy is called the second giving of the law. That’s what the word Deuteronomy means, deutero = second; nomos = law. At this point in history, Moses is finishing his ministry. Moses was the great leader of God’s people — he led Israel out of Egyptian slavery, through the Red Sea. He led them as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. He went to the mountain and met with God, and God gave him the Ten Commandments. Now he is at the end of his ministry; he wants the people of Israel to make a choice.

I’ve been in places where a leader gets everyone all excited about the decision they are making. They make the choice look very attractive, and they get the people emotionally charged up to make the decision. But when they go out from the church, they realize that they cannot follow through. But Moses tells the people that this commandment that he is giving them is not too hard. It is something they can accomplish. And it is not far off; they don’t have to wait to start. They don’t need an angel or a missionary to bring it to them.

I want to pause here for a moment. There are people who think that the only way the Methodist Church in Lusaka or in Zambia can be successful is if a missionary does it for you. I have been personally chastised and embarrassed by our own district members because I have not built for you a building. Some people have a worldview called “entitlement.” This means you expect someone else to do everything for you, to find you a job, to give you money, always expecting a handout. Moses is saying, “You don’t need someone else. But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.” (Deuteronomy 30:14)

We don’t need someone else to do it for us. We don’t need someone to tell us or explain to us; what we need to do is to obey what God has told us. We often ask a lot of questions about God’s will, about what God wants from us, and we can make it so complicated and hard. Moses explains things simply. But he also shows how important this is. The choice is the choice between life and death, good and evil. 

How do we get life? We refuse to seek the living among the dead! Deuteronomy 30:16 tells us: 

“If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.” 

God tells us: “obey Me.” How do we obey him? Love God. Walk in his ways. Keep his commandments. You want to know God’s will for your life? Obey God. Love him. Walk in his ways. Keep his commandments. There are plenty of people who want to know God’s will for their lives, but they don’t want to be bothered by these little things like obedience. They don’t want to walk in his ways; they want God to walk in their ways. And when God does not do that, their hearts turn away. They worship other gods and serve them. Now, most of us do not think about other gods, like Baal or Molech, but what we do is turn to other things. Other things become more important than God. We seek first after money. We seek first after relationships. We seek first after the approval of other people. Then we find ourselves living terrible lives, without money, without relationships, without the approval of man, and, most importantly without God’s blessing.

The sad thing is that we are all seeking life, but when we seek anywhere else but in God’s good and perfect will, we are seeking the living among the dead. And the result of seeking life among death, looking in dead things for the means of life, then we receive death. This is also God’s promise to his people! 

But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 

The choice is before us. Life or death. Blessing or curse. You don’t need a pastor or a missionary to tell you this. You don’t need an angel visit or a vision or a dream to give you this word of Truth. 

Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

This is our objective. This is our goal. This is why Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10). And this goal comes from our choice: choose life. Choose obedience.