Therefore Choose Life!
On February 16, 2005, an internationally known author composed a note from his home high in the Colorado Rockies: "No more games. No more bombs. No more walking. No more fun. No more swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring . . . No fun—for anybody. 67. You are getting greedy. Act your old age. Relax—this won't hurt."
Four days later he committed suicide. He chose death.
Seventeen days before this, a lady I will call "Janice" applied for her first district minister's license. She wrote to the district Ministerial Credentials Board: "I know the pain of separation . . . When everything is taken away from you—your husband after 18 years of marriage leaves, your home is in foreclosure, your possessions are stolen, you have a car that doesn't work, you haven't had a job in 12 years, your child support is not paid, and you have two children to raise—you wonder if you will ever trust anyone again . . . What do you do?"
She continued by writing: "I know Jesus is real! He expressed His love to my family and me when I went through a divorce. The Lord provided for me and my children—friends to listen, pray, love, and encourage me. A home rent-free for two years, a car, a job, and a new friend who offered to take care of my kids while I worked . . . I would even find $100 (U.S.) bills hidden in my purse! All given to me out of the love of Jesus Christ! I know Jesus is real!" Thankfully, Janice chose life.
Years ago God spoke to His people and said: "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments . . . that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess." He continued by making the choice very distinctive: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:15,16,19 NKJV).
The 67-year-old writer chose death. Janice, a middle-aged woman, chose life. What a dramatic difference.
The greatest power we possess is the power to choose.
Our most important choice, whether on the plains of Moab or in today's fast-paced world, is between "life and good, death and evil." Jonathan Edwards said: "Resolved: That all men should live for the glory of God. Resolved: That whether others do or not, I will." What an example of the power of choice! God puts it before us, "life and good, death and evil." He grants us the incredible power of choice. Then our loving God gives us direct counsel: "therefore choose life." Why? "That both you and your descendants may live." Those choices were not only made several thousand years ago, they are being made today by every one of us, every day we live: Choices between good and evil, life and death, right and wrong. And God's counsel to us is the same as it was to His people in Moses' day: "Therefore, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live."
Of course, this word from God would also speak to us when faced with an unwanted pregnancy: "Therefore choose life." The rest of the sentence is powerfully applicable as well: "that both you and your descendants may live." Therefore, choose life!
Most of the time, however, our choices are not so dramatic as choosing between life and death. They are between right and wrong, good and evil, choosing between God's way and the world's way. Little choices—over and over again. Choices no one else sees—except God. But these little, day-by-day choices determine our character and our destiny.
This little phrase from the heart of God has been ringing in my ears for weeks now: "Therefore choose life." I'm with Jonathan Edwards: "Resolved: That all men should live for the glory of God. Resolved: That whether others do or not, I will." I'm also with Janice: "I will choose Jesus."
What will be your choice today? When you choose right, when you choose good, when you choose Jesus, you choose life! "Therefore, choose life!"
James H. Diehl is a general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.
Holiness Today, January/February 2006
Please note: This article was originally published in 2006. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.
