Choose Life

S. "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess." (Deuteronomy 30: 15-16, NIV)

O. We have a choice to make while we live on this earth. Moses writes that we can choose "life and prosperity or death and destruction". I believe that too many times, we are plagued with a thought that this life is all there is…that we just need to live it up on the earth because that is what really matters in life. But when you think about it, we are really only here for a small portion of time. I have often described my life here on the earth compared to eternity as a long line (representing eternity) and a small dot (representing my life). We are here for just a brief, fleeting moments when we see life as more than our time here on earth. I have been reflecting so much on the life of my niece Sarah Beth Napier. She is in the final stages of breast cancer and we are grief stricken as we see her final days on the earth. But in days of sharing every precious moment with her, we have reflected on the brevity of her life here on earth…and more important the impact that her few years have had on so many people around the world. I think that Sarah really understood that as we life this life we have a choice…to embrace each day as the life that God has given, to walk with the Lord, obediently following his ways and living her life to the full in view of God's will. The land that she is entering into is a land that is her eternal home. Having walked faithfully in the ways of God will bring her great reward.

I guess there is a great lesson in her life and in these words from God…you have a choice as to how you will live your life. Choose God's way…because what really matters is your relationship with God that will last eternally.

A. Today I choose to live in God's plan and not my own.

P. Lord, you have blessed me beyond measure…you have given me an example (and so many others) in Sarah's life. Today, I choose to live in YOU!