"He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:11)
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CHOICE

by the Rev. Douglas Taylor

Moses gave a beautiful speech to the Israelites before he died. He urged them over and over again to follow the Lord, to do His Commandments. If they did that, he promised, they would be happy, really happy. If they did not obey the Lord's Commandments, they would suffer all sorts of unhappiness. Instead of blessings, they would bring curses upon themselves.

Everything Moses said was from the Lord. The Lord told him what to say. So it was really the Lord speaking, by means of Moses. And one of the most important of all the wonderful things that the Lord said was that He was giving the Israelites a clear choice, a choice between heaven and hell. "See, I have set before you today LIFE and GOOD, death and evil" (Deuteronomy 30:15). "Life" means heavenly life, life in heaven. "Death" means no life in heaven, killing your chances of living in heaven. It does not mean the death of the body, as we usually think of death. It means living in hell to eternity.

"Life" is good. "Death"-a life in hell-is evil. And the Lord allows us to choose whichever one we like. If we want to live in heaven, we can choose that. If we really want to live in hell, we can choose that, too. We are free to choose.

But we should know what we are choosing. Heaven is good. Hell is evil. The people in heaven are angelic people. They LOVE to help one another. They are kind to each other. Each angel treats everyone else as he or she would like to be treated. So they are deeply happy. And their happiness goes on forever.

But in hell people are always quarreling, always fighting, always struggling to get on top, always trying to rule over everyone else, always using other people for their own selfish purposes. They hate each other. Everyone there looks on everyone else as a rival. Each one loves only himself or herself. No wonder the Lord said in the Word, "There is no peace…for the wicked" (Isaiah 48:22). Compared with the people in heaven they are miserable. And their misery lasts forever. Why? Because they keep on adding to it.

Now, I can almost hear you saying, "I want to choose heaven. I don't like the sound of those people in hell. It would be terrible to live with people like that forever. So, I choose heaven." Well, that's good. Because that is what the LORD wants you to choose. So He said, through Moses: "Therefore, choose life" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

But, you know, you don't make that choice in one day, once and for all. You make it every day-in fact, every moment of every day. All day long the Lord sets before you "life and good" (or heaven), and "death and evil" (or hell). But He urges you to "choose life," to choose heaven. He doesn't want you to go to hell. He knows that you will be happiest in heaven. So He urges you to choose heaven, all day long, everywhere, in any company.

So remember that everyday the Lord says to you: "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil…. Therefore, choose life."

Text: Deuteronomy 30:9-20

Printable Version: docyoungchoice.pdf