02-16-14: Choose Life

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8

God calls us to walk in ways that lead to life and abundance. In his final address, Moses urges the Hebrew people to choose life while the psalmist praises those who walk in God's ways. So many people chafe at the idea of blindly following another's guidelines and rules. I find myself in this camp. Moreover, one reading of Sunday's scriptures seems to suggest that if we don't do as God commands, God is going to get us. This reading leads to the idea that God's love is conditional-namely, it is predicated on our obedience to God's statutes and laws. I don't think this is what's going on in these passages. I think these passages are descriptive in nature, not prescriptive. By that I mean that God says if you do x, y, and z, you will prosper but if you don't, you won't-not because God will make sure you don't prosper, your actions will. Warning a student that if she doesn't study, she'll fail is simply stating what will happen if she doesn't know the material. God warns us that if we forsake God's ways, we'll perish: not because God will cause us to perish; our own actions will do that for us. If you're like me, you don't need God's help to mess things up. God asks us to choose life because God wants us to truly live. See you Sunday.

Yours on the journey,