Day 96

Deuteronomy 29:1–30:20; Luke 11:37–12:7; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 12:19-20

“THERE IS A narrow path that leads to life.” We know this phrase. It’s usually associated with Jesus. But this is what Moses told the children of Israel in Deuteronomy today.

After exhaustively reminding the people of the community they had become because of God’s intentional care and instruction, Moses essentially told them that they had no excuse for not following God:

This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, “Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?” It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, “Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?” No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

Moses invoked heaven and earth as witnesses to the choice they would make that day. The choice was between life or death, prosperity or destruction. It’s an easy choice, right? Who isn’t going to choose life when the alternative is death? Who isn’t going to choose prosperity when the alternative is destruction? And yet, heaven and earth are still bearing witness to the choices we make in this regard. The shape and texture of our lives are evidence of these choices.

We must choose life. It won’t just happen. Every decision we make should filter through the question, “Will this bring life or death in my relationship with God?” As Moses said, this is not something that is too hard for us. It’s not locked up in heaven or hidden on the far side of the sea. It’s very close at hand. So close, in fact, that we are constantly choosing one or the other in all that we do and say —every thought, word, and deed. May we choose life today.

MEDITATION:

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.