The Offer of Life or Death
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
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 if your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- Deuteronomy 30:11-20
In Deuteronomy Moses recaps to the Israelites all that they went through in book of Numbers from coming out of Egypt to reaching the Promise Land. Above, Moses shows his people that there are two distinct paths they can choose - "life and prosperity" or "death and destruction." If they choose to obey God's laws , they will prosper, but if they choose to indulge in sin, disobeying God, they will face death and destruction. Here, we can see that there is no middle ground. It's one way or the other.
In studying the history of the Israelites, I can see that they were prosperous when they obeyed God. On the other hand, I can see how disastrous it was when they began to disobey God by worshiping man-made idols. Reflecting in my life, I can see how God blessed me when I obeyed him and I can also see the consequences of when I chose not to obey him.
An example would be when I chose the wrong major when I was applying to UMCP because I wasn't completely sure what God wanted me to major in even though I knew. Now I have make the effort to go change it. It would have been much easier if I chose the major in the first place.
And then there are times that I obeyed God and he blessed me greatly!
From my own experience and learning from the Israelites, I would have to say it is far better to obey God and receive his blessings than to disobey him and suffer the consequences. God has the best plans for my life anyways. However, obeying God is not easy. To obey, we must constantly deny ourselves, serve, and love others. Nevertheless, Jesus did all these things and he showed us through his own life how to serve and love.
What are you going to choose?
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