Choose to live life to the full
Deuteronomy 30 starts with another promise. Things will go wrong, God knows that. The Israelites will turn away from Him and worship other gods and forget all that He has done for them. There will be consequences. Serious consequences. BUT the good news is that when they turn back to Him and obey Him with all their heart and soul, then He will be waiting with open arms to welcome them back.
It is never too late. God’s love and grace and mercy never run out. It is always possible to return.
God will restore their fortunes. God will have compassion on them. God will gather them back in. God will make them prosperous and numerous. God will delight in them again.
And because God is the same yesterday, today and forever, the good news is that it is never too late for any of us either. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. God’s love and grace and mercy never run out. It is always possible to return.
I’ve said this before, I know, but here it is again. We complicate things. We like to confuse the issue with excuses when actually it is very simple.
Trust. Obey. Live. Just do it.
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. Deuteronomy 30:11-14
We know what is good for us. We know how to look after our bodies and minds and souls. We know what is life-giving and what is not.
We know how to treat other people right. We know that we should be protecting the planet.
In most situations, it is pretty clear what the right thing to do is and how to do it with the right attitude.
Trust. Obey. Live. Just do it.
The whole of the Book of Deuteronomy has been leading up to this point. I started at this point on the first day of this new year in Choose Life! and have been working my way back to it ever since.
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, 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 is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:19-20
We are reminded daily of how precious life and relationships are. We forget daily how precious life and relationships are.
They are a treasure of infinite worth to protect and guard and appreciate and enjoy everyday while we still can.
On 1.1.2015, I vowed to notice one life-giving moment every day and post it on Facebook and I invited you to do the same. Here are a few of mine so far –
….tingling already at The Voice
….hearing Courtney talking about a future in nursing and midwifery
…. fun and games in a deserted pool with my water baby
….watching Dempsey crack ice
….decluttering
….running. It never fails to make me feel more alive
….has to be a back somersault under the water every time!
These moments may seem trivial and insignificant to you, but they were packed with meaning and significance for me. I felt fully alive. I felt connected to others and to the universe and to God.
You’ve had those moments I’m sure. Notice them. Seek them out. Appreciate them. Thank God for them.
Moments such as these are priceless.
Choose to live life to the full.
