Meditation for June 12

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Deuteronomy 30:11, 14-20

 

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away... No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe."

 

"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.  If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in His ways, and observing His commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing 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, blessings and curses.  Choose life so that you and your descendents may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and holding fast to Him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

 

Choose Life

 

The commandments that God gave to the Jews through Moses, when he went up on Mt. Sinai, were words of life and a precious gift.  They were not meant to be a burden, were not seen as a burden when they were first given, and are not seen by Jews today as a burden.  It's more like this:  "Wow!  God cares about us so much that He appeared to us, brought us out of Egypt, and then gave us clear commandments on how we should live, so that we will have a good life... so we will prosper."  Those commandments were later summed up by Jesus:  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'   This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 22:37-39) These were the commandments that were to guide the Jews' lives, and they are the commandments that are to guide ours.  Although it is not easy to love God with all that you are... although it is not easy to love your neighbor... although it is not always easy to love yourself... the commandments themselves are not burdensome, because they point the way to life.  They point the way to the blessings and prosperity that come when one's life is oriented toward God, and balanced between God, others, and self.

 

There is a choice involved.  God always gives us a choice.  "... I have set before you life and death, blessings and curse.  Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and holding fast to Him; for that means life to you and length of days..." (verses 19-20)

 

God says to Israel, through Moses, "Choose life."  In other words, speak and act in ways that bring honor and praise and blessing to God.  Speak and act in ways that bring life and blessings to other people.  Speak and act in ways that lead to your own growth and transformation.

 

Perhaps it would be good to think for a moment about what God does not say.

 

God does not say, "Choose fear."  The 2008 Presidential campaign is well under way, and many of the candidates are (once again) playing the fear card.  According to many of them, most of the planet is out to get us, we are not safe unless we act unilaterally and preemptively to find and wipe out all these enemies.  If we go around looking for enemies, we will surely find them.  (And probably breed many more in the process.)  Is being fearful the way that you want to go through life?  Is fear going to be the god you serve?  Throughout the Bible, from cover to cover, we hear, "Do not be afraid!  I am with you."  And yet playing to our fears and insecurities seems to be one of the top strategies of the politicians who are seeking the highest offices.  I say: don't fall into their trap, or you will not be choosing life; you will be choosing death - the very thing these politicians are supposedly trying to protect you from!  We do not need to fear death.  Remember that?  Jesus has already won the victory over death.  Why aren't more politicians saying that?

 

God does not say, "Choose worry and anxiety.  Be anxious.  That will solve all your problems."  As I said in my meditation from a few weeks ago (Luke 12:22-31), Jesus said "do not worry about your life... instead, strive for His kingdom..."  Jesus said we could not add a single hour to our lives by worrying.  Put your focus elsewhere.  Don't spend your time worrying about all the things that could happen.  Instead, trust in God.  Pray, and pay attention to what God is calling you to do in your life right now.  To paraphrase both Jesus and The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., get up and serve somebody.  That is choosing life.

 

God does not say, "Choose consumerism."  Get out there and buy everything you can, and you will find happiness. No, God doesn't say that, because God knows (and we know, too, if we've bought enough things) that buying stuff will not lead to lasting happiness, and will certainly not bring you joy, which is something altogether different.

 

Interestingly enough, God does not even say, "Choose happiness."  We are pretty obsessed with happiness in our culture.  It comes to us straight from the Founding Fathers - "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."  God puts "Life" at the top of that list. God seems to think that if we choose life, those other blessings will come our way, too.  But to make happiness the be-all and end-all, as in, "I'll do absolutely anything to be happy.  Happiness is the ultimate goal!" - No, that is not what God says.

 

God says, "Choose life."  Whatever you think, whatever you say, whatever you do... will it build up lives?  Will it renew life?  Will it nurture life?  Will it lead to another person or yourself being transformed and growing more and more into the full stature of Christ?  Choose whatever will bring that about.  Choose life.  Choose life, and God will bless you in so many ways that you will lose count.

 

It is always our choice.  Let us focus on the many ways that we can choose life.