Life or Death, Choose Life
It all started in the garden. According to the Bible, our first recorded history tells of one man and one woman living life to the fullest in the most beautiful place on earth. God designed the garden just for them. Live life He said. Don’t choose death. Although they received clear instructions about life and death, they were deceived into choosing death thinking it was life. Being the merciful God He is, He already had a plan to restore life to mankind.
Life lessons began as God continued to raise up men who would believe Him and choose life. Let’s look at some of those men.
Moses - In Sunday School we read and hear about the life of Moses and can become numb to the miraculous way God saved Moses, called him, equipped him, and used him. He demonstrated astounding patience with the people of Israel, maintained a teachable heart before God, and provided leadership that saved a nation. He wrote the first five books of the Bible to record the goodness of God. He wrote from his relationship with a real God and greatly desired that the people desire the same relationship. He called heaven and earth as witnesses to set before the people a choice. You can choose life or death. The answer is to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).
David - A man after God’s own heart. David was a man of war with a warrior’s heart. He sought God with passion and repented with humility. How do we know? He wrote about his relationship with God in a book we call Psalms. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). David, convinced that God was good and the giver of Life, declared, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6)! And when he fell into a pit that leads to death, he repented. Create in me a clean heart O, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 50:10). He said this after he confessed his sin - which leads to death. He chose life.
The Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, tell us of another Man, who came from God to save us from our sins, redeem or buy us back, and give life to all who believe. This Man, Jesus, came declaring that He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. He knows how Adam and Eve were deceived in believing that life comes another way. Jesus came to set the record straight. There is only One way, and He said, I AM it.
The Apostle Paul, who wrote at least 13 of the New Testament letters, writes of our assurance of eternal life, life with God forever. In II Corinthians 5:1-10, he lays out a truth, that to be present in the body is to be absent from the Lord. Not absent from the awareness of God, His attributes, or character, but the very presence of God. Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day. They literally walked with God (Genesis 3:8). Remember, they traded life for death. Paul goes on to say that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Christ Jesus - Finally, we look at the resurrected Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God always praying for you and me to choose Him, to choose life. The creator of the universe, the heavens, and the earth knows what life and death look like. He puts before us, Himself. His arms outstretched in the form of Jesus, and says, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him/her and make Our home with him (John 14:23). God reestablished the garden, that Adam and Eve gave away, placed it in our hearts and now He abides in us forever.
There are three different meanings to the word life in the New Testament Greek. The word for the life of God is Zoe. It means the eternal life of God. Zoe life dwells in those who believe God is who He says He is and believes His Word to be true. So, whether you are on the earth as a believer or have moved to heaven the life of God dwells in you.
Until next time, remember, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.
Dr. Michele
October 13, 2024
