Life Or Death

The quality of our lives hangs in the balance.

Opening Prayer:

Merciful God, give us grace to hear what you have to say through your Spirit and your Word, so that we might live the abundant life you have won for us through the cross and empty tomb.  Amen.

Deuteronomy 30: 1-20

Comments:

"Doctor, come quick.  It's a matter of life or death!"  We may have heard this line in a movie a few times, but have we ever thought of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ in this light?  Living God's ways promotes life, and not just long, eternal life, but the richest, highest quality of life that can be had.  From the beginning, God hasn't only been interested in our obedience to him because God is God and deserves it, but also because God knows how we have been designed, what we have been designed for, and how we can live most fully and completely. 

Many people view God's laws in the Old Testament as evidence that God likes to create endlist lists for us to follow, like great hoops for us to jump through as though God needed the entertainment or wanted the power trip to show us who is boss when we fail.  According to the bible, however, God gives us laws so that "it may go well with us," and our lives may be full, abundant, giving praise to God.  Jesus once said, "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Our text today may have been written after God's people suffered a time of exile then combined with other material from Deuteronomy.  God's people were disobedient, weakening them and making them vulnerable to a hostile takeover and exile from the land.  In this passage, God called them back to obedience of his laws, to a fully devoted love of God so that they might live and live fully.  "The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live (6)."  The author frames obedience to God as a matter of life or death.

Jesus, when teaching his followers the cost of discipleship, said, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul (Mark 8: 35-36)."  Taking up a new life with Jesus means leaving behind the old one, a broken life for a whole one, the ways of death exchanged for the ways of life.  That is God's invitation to us. 

Life Questions:

1.  What are the habits we practice that tear down relationships, that promote death?
2.  What habits do we practice that promote love for God with our whole heart and love of our 
     neighbors? 

Prayer:

Jesus, give us the grace to respond to your invitation with great faith, following your footsteps and practicing habits like forgiveness, love, service to the poor, healing, reconciliation, peacemaking, disciple making, thankfulness and praise.  These are the habits of our new life with you.  Thank you for your cross and empty tomb which open the door for us to enter your Kingdom way of life!  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we pray, amen.

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