Jesus Chooses Life for Us
Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 30:15-20
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life. . . .
In Deuteronomy, Moses is giving his farewell speech to God’s people Israel. So he tells the Israelites straight up: “You can go one of two ways—the way of blessings and life, or the way of curses and death. Choose life!” The choice seems rather simple and obvious, right? I can’t imagine people saying, “Well, I’ll choose curses and death.” But some do. Some people reject or ignore the choice that God gives them. The same thing happens today. People reject or ignore the choice to follow Christ. In Moses’ day, God laid the choice in front of Israel in terms of a “covenant.” That was a pact between God and his people—a pledge of fidelity on both sides. God promised to be faithful to his people, and the people were called to reciprocate. They needed to be faithful to God. They needed to keep the terms of the covenant. Those terms made up the law, summarized in the Ten Commandments: do not worship or serve other gods; do not harm your neighbor; and so on. Yet no human could keep the terms of that covenant perfectly—till Jesus came. Jesus is the only human who kept every stipulation of the covenant. And he not only chose life for himself but also made it available to all who choose life in him. Thanks to Jesus, we have blessings and life!
Jesus, you have blessed us in every way. You give us life now and forever. Help us share this good news everywhere. Amen.
About the author — Kent Van Til
Kent Van Til was a missionary in Costa Rica. He taught theological ethics both there and in the USA. He is the author of four books. The most recent is a spiritual biography of his grandmother entitled, "A Name for Herself: A Dutch Immigrant's Story." Kent likes to fish, hunt, make music, and entertain his grandchildren.
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