Choose Life

July 29, 2014 life, peace No Comments

God has no need of marionettes. He pays men the compliment of allowing them to live without Him if they choose. But if they live without Him in this life, they must also live without Him in the next.
~Leon Morris

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
~ Deuteronomy 30:15-20

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
~ Romans 12:18

An online encyclopedia defines peace as: A state of balance and understanding in yourself and between others, where respect is gained by the acceptance of differences, tolerance persists, conflicts are resolved through dialog, people’s rights are respected and their voices are heard, and everyone is at their highest point of serenity without social tension.

Not bad.  But maybe peace goes deeper than this…

It seems, rather, that peace is found when each person sees themselves for who they really are.  And in that knowing, they seek first the glory of the most preeminent member of the group.  Said more simply: Peace is not getting people to respect you, or getting people to respect each other.  Peace IS each of us fully respecting others for who they are – and aligning ourselves to the truth as it is revealed. It is entering into profound agreement on central truths.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 
~ Romans 5:1-2

And any other approach to life simply will not bring peace.  Without living for the glory of others (and God as preeminent among others) – and resting in, and gaining strength from, the truth that this is the only way to live, we will not have peace.

We can try to do it ourselves.

And we will fail.

Yeah, we can try to create balance.  We can try to avoid the pitfalls and behaviors that mess us up.  We can try to tolerate and understand people.  We can try to get them to understand us.  We can assert our rights and try to get other people to back off (it’s not like we’re trying to step on their rights, right?)….. Are we tired yet?  How is stuff like this working for us?

Not so good?  What to do?

> Change our minds.
> Choose Life.
> Surrender to the Preeminent Member of the group.
> Trust Him to bring peace.
> Abide in those terms of surrender.  

Seem too simple?  Really?  You’re not one of those Wile E. Coyote’s trying everything that won’t work, are you?  Surely not.

Would that we might choose Life and peace in Him tonight – on HIS terms.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 

loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” 
~ Deuteronomy 30:19-20

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About The Author

Makala Doulos

Mak is just a guy who is in Love with Jesus and his wife and kids. He writes about the amazing things that G_d is doing in our lives. May you be blessed and encouraged.