Have you ever played the childhood game where one person holds a small item in their hand, hidden behind their back, while the other person has to guess which hand the item is being held in? The object of the game is quite simple – pick one! Pick the correct hand, you win the prize. Pick the wrong hand, you get nothing except the view of an empty palm.
The odds are, you have a 50% chance of winning and a 50% chance of losing. But, if you ask me, those don’t sound like the best odds. I much prefer to have a 100% guarantee.
So, how hard could it possibly be to pick one?
In this life, we are often faced with a myriad of things to pick from – where to live, what car to drive, where to work, etc. But God has a much deeper concern for our lives than where we choose to live, work and what we drive. While those things are indeed important, God’s greater concern is where we choose to spend eternity.
Where our spiritual lives are concerned, picking and choosing is a foundational gift offered by God to man for the purpose of our eternal existence. God longs for us to want to be with Him because we choose to be and not because He demands us to be. But first, we must pick from what He offers.
In the book of Deuteronomy 30:19-20, God offers two things straight from His hands for His people to pick from – life and death, blessings and curses. Whichever one we pick, our response directly reflects the core of our relationship with God. But, unlike the harmless game some of us played as kids, here there is a 100% chance of winning and a 100% chance of losing.
Pick life, and we will live eternally with God in peaceful splendor, abounding joy and blessings overflowing. Pick death, and we will live eternally separated from God, forever tormented, abounding in pain and overflowing curses.
The end result of life and blessings, death and curses, is wrapped up in our freedom to choose with the prize we pick being eternal. God presents these to us freely, hands open wide and with a single instruction given – pick one.
How hard could it possibly be to pick one?
INVITATION TO CHOOSE
“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.” Because of our sin, we deserve only death. But, God has instead laid out options directly in front of us and in plain view. There is no mystery here and we don’t have to guess what it is He is offering. The invitation is open – pick one.
OPTION TO CHOOSE
“Now choose life…” The recommendation is from God, but the choice is ours. Our options are not hidden behind His back and we may pick freely from what is being offered. He leaves nothing to chance by telling us in advance which hand the prize is in. He has given away the great secret and it reaches beyond the scope of a one-time event.
Choosing life is an eternal event made up of a lifetime of single moments throughout our daily walk of faith with God. Life is where redemption for our sins is rendered.
What does it mean to choose life? It means we choose Jesus, our prize direct from the hands of God, who scripture refers to as the resurrection and the life (John 11:25).
PROMISE OF PRIZE
“…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.”
Love, intimate knowledge of the Lord, security and abundant life are the gifts given to us and our families when we pick the right option. It’s a generational blessing. The good news is, we have a 100% chance of winning when we choose life and blessings with Jesus. But, if we want a shot at the prize, we must first be willing to make the choice.
For the Lord is your life.
So, how hard could it possibly be to pick one?
Check out an earlier post by Tammy here.