Choose Life
Nowadays we often hear the words choose life in relationship to the abortion controversy. But in Scripture, the command Choose life meant far more than to let a pre-born child live, as important as that choice is.
For a moment, I’d love it if you’d think along with me what Scripture says about life.
Beginning in Genesis, we read the creation story. On day six, God made man.
And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Genesis 2:7
Sadly, this living soul soon defied His Creator and chose death. God told Adam and Eve they were free to eat of every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had a reason for that directive, and even explained the result of disobedience was death. But the enemy of our souls knew just how to trick Eve and then Adam into disobeying the Almighty. Death entered our world.
Perhaps because Adam and Eve continued to “live” in a physical body, they thought God had lied. Death didn’t really come to them, did it? Maybe God really had been holding back something wonderful from them. Perhaps the enemy was right when he said surely they wouldn’t die.
But there was no doubt to Adam and Eve the relationship with their Creator was no longer the same. Intimacy with their Father and freedom of heart were gone. Shame and fear entered their souls. The joy of walking in the garden with Elohim was gone.
Our Choice
We can’t blame our forebears for allowing death into our world. All humans have sinned (Romans 3:23). Some people don’t like that word, but the fact of the matter is, we’ve all blown it. Our hearts are self-centered. We don’t choose God’s way. We’ve sinned. Period.
And the penalty for sin? Death. Just as God said to Adam and Eve, He speaks to us.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23, NKJV
But do you see what God added? The penalty for our rebellion against our Creator is death, but God in His great mercy and love for His creation offers life. And He does even more than make the offer. He greatly desires that each of us choose life (1 Timothy 2:4).
Life or Death?
Through the centuries, God has spoken to us to call us to Himself. He’s eager for our relationship to be restored. So much so He sacrificed His Son to pay the penalty for our sin. Where we deserve death, He offers Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Jesus endured our death penalty, separation from our Creator, so we can have life with Him and the Father forever.
When God delivered the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He directed them toward a land of great promise. The best prize? God offered them a relationship with Himself. But He told them up front they had to be committed to Him. They had to choose Him over the gods of the lands around them. Life is available, but we can’t straddle the fence between life and death. It’s one or the other.
In Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Moses spoke for God to the Israelites as they traveled.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed; to love Jehovah thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him; for he is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Our society is at a crossroads. We have played for years with the toys our Creator blesses us with, and we’ve chosen to ignore our Father Himself. Life is not found in the things God made. Life is in our Creator. He is the One Who breathes the breath of life into us, making us living souls. Why do we think we can ignore Him and live?
The Israelites wandered for years because their rebellious hearts kept them from entering the Land of Promise. The time finally came when God had a new leader guide them over the River Jordan and lead them in battle against the enemies in the land. Before Joshua died, he challenged the people one last time. He spoke to them much the same way Moses had spoken before.
Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye Jehovah. And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.
Joshua 24:14-15
Jehovah is God. There is no other. He is our Source of life. We choose Him. Or we choose death. It’s that simple.
Choose Life
Jesus, the Son of God, is the way to the Father and the life we long for (John 14:6).
John the Apostle spoke about Jesus this way, In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:4, NKJV). God offers us life. He offers us Jesus.
John 17:3 tells us, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (NKJV). These words were spoken by Jesus hours before He was taken to be falsely accused, tried, and sentenced to death on a Roman cross. For you. And for me.
Eternal life is far more than a length of time. It’s a relationship with the Giver of life. No wonder our Creator says, Choose life! He wants us to choose Him.
In a world that’s increasingly dark, filled with chaos and confusion, God offers us a choice. Thankfully we don’t have to choose the way of the world which is death. Jesus offers us Himself instead.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16, NKJV
Praise God! Choose life!
(Scripture: American Standard Version unless otherwise indicated; Photo: Taken by Carolyn Thigpen, October 2024, Gibbs Gardens, GA. If you wish to read more about Jesus and the salvation He offers, you might enjoy reading Jesus Saves.)
