“Choose Life”
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses
today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing
and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may
live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His
voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length
of your days..” (v.19-20)
Most
have heard of the infamous John Wilkes Booth who assassinated
President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. But have you heard about Edwin Booth, John's
eldest brother? Edwin, a well-known actor, was waiting at a Jersey City train
station when he saw someone slip and fall off the platform. Edwin quickly
grabbed the man's collar and pulled him to safety-rescuing him from serious
injury or death. Who was the man he saved? Abraham Lincoln's son Robert ,a
soldier in the Civil War.
How
ironic that the man who saved Lincoln's son had a brother who would soon kill
the president. One saved a life; one took a life. One chose life; the other
chose death.
Here in our text, the Lord
gave His people a choice between life and death: They could love Him and obey
His commands (v.16), or they could worship and serve other gods (v.17). He told
them, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing;
therefore choose life" (v.19).
We too
have a choice between life and death. We can receive Jesus as our Savior and
live with Him forever, or we can reject Jesus and be in darkness forever
without Him. The best choice is clear. Receive
God's gift of His Son Jesus. Choose life!
The Truth
"But
if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves
this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the
Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as
for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)
