By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Carthage
Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 30:1-10, 19-20
It is true that the choices we make today will shape our tomorrow. There is a commercial currently running on television for Raisin Bran cereal. In the commercial, a dad is encouraging his daughter, who is going to spend time with her friends, to “make good choices.”
Those were his exact words to her. She turns and looks back at her dad, and she encouraged him to make good choices as well. He holds up a bowl of Raisin Bran and lets her know that he is making good choices regarding his health. There is a good lesson for us in that commercial. Our choices today will have an impact on our tomorrow. That’s a principle that can be applied to our spiritual lives as well as other areas of our lives.
When we come to Deuteronomy 30:1-10 and verses 19-20, Moses is reminding God’s chosen people that their choices impact their lives and the lives of those coming after them. The heart of his message can be found in verses 19-20. Listen to the weight of his words as he says, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Our choice to love the Lord and to follow Him brings us abundant life both here and certainly for eternity. This choice not only will impact our life, but many other lives as well.
David Jeremiah says that, “the obedience Moses spoke of can be passed down from one generation to another in this manner: when godly parents lovingly, persistently, prayerfully instill patterns of belief and obedience in their children (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Proverbs 22:6), then more often than not, the things of the Lord become a part of the maturing child’s life as well. There are no promises in the Bible that the children of believers will themselves become believers, but the influence of godly parents can be profound (I Corinthians 7:14).”
The central truth of this week’s lesson is that true life is found only when we live according to God’s purposes. His purpose, first and foremost, is that we would know Him and love Him. Following the Lord is where we find life. In John 10:10, we find Jesus’ own words to us when He says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” God’s purpose for us is that we would find life in His Son, our Savior. As we obediently follow Him we discover true life.
I shared the following thought in one of my sermons several years ago. I said, “Any day we fail to focus on our walk with Christ is a day that is less than it was meant to be.” Love the Lord and walk with Him today. Spend time in His Word. Obey what He teaches you. You will walk in His purposes and you will discover the life He has for you. Your love for the Lord and your obedience in following Him will leave a lasting legacy that will impact others.
