Deuteronomy 30:15 – 20 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
The choice of opening or closing your heart to God has both daily and eternal consequences. The passage above sets before you the choice between life and death. .The first and foremost choice of your life is to choose Christ as Saviour. After receiving Christ as Saviour, you are then faced with another vital decision. You are faced with the decision as to whether to allow Him to be Lord of your heart and life, or not. Joshua 24:15 says “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
God has explained that He commands you to choose Him, but because He is a gentleman, He does not demand it. Here, He describes what it means to choose Him. It means to love the Lord your God, to really love Him. To love Him in this way means to place Him above all, in all that you do, and to make Him supreme ruler over all in your life. It means that you will walk in His ways, not just occasionally, but always. To walk in His ways is to walk beside Him each day, following His lead. It means you will keep His commandments and statutes and obey His judgments. The reward for choosing a life centered on Him is that your greatness shall be multiplied and you will receive the desires of your heart. When you live like this, God can open up the storehouse of blessings that He has set aside for you.
To choose death and evil is to choose to live a life following after satan, instead of God. This is the choice for the dark path, the worldly way, and results in your being separated from Him. You will not be able to hear His voice and will not obey His voice. This choice causes you to be drawn away from Him. Choosing the things of this world is a life of punishment and cursing. Serving self, work, others, materialism and the like draws you from God.
If you choose the world and satan over God, then He will denounce your choice, breaking your fellowship with Him. You no longer will bring Him glory so your days on earth will not be prolonged. You no longer will be able to receive His blessings so You will not receive the desires of your heart. The consequences of choosing death results in the death of the fellowship with God and if there was never fellowship with God, then the ultimate spiritual death of eternal separation from God.
God allows all of Heaven and earth to be as witnesses to your choice. He lays out the choice again here, between a blessing and a curse. He implores you to choose life, that you may live, both eternally and in daily fellowship with Him. There will be no excuse for your choice. He is making it perfectly clear and will witness this time in your life in both heaven and on earth. The choice is clear and you will have consciously made it. He urges you to choose Him.
To really live means to love God, to keep His commands, to obey His voice, and to bind your heart to Him. He is the sustenance of your life, as He chooses the length of your days. You will be able to draw all of your strength and substance from Him as you travel through this life of abundant blessing. You will receive all He has for you and the desires of your heart. These blessings He has set aside for you are promised to all and chosen by so few.
The choice is yours. Are you going to serve the God of the Universe, who gave Himself for you or the prince of the air who seeks to destroy your soul? He lays this decision plainly at your feet and asks, what will your choice be? In this passage, He tells you that choosing Him is a life of abundant blessing. Choosing satan and the things of this world is a life of punishment and cursing. Choosing God fills your heart with love and opens up the door for an incredible life-long friendship with the Saviour of the world. It places peace and joy in your heart that is like none other and is not possible without complete devotion to Him. There is a time in your life that you will come to the cross roads of who will you serve and then you must decide. The more you seek Him, the sooner that comes. The more quickly you make the decision to serve Him, the sooner you are introduced to a life lived in His presence moment by moment. He created you to love and He died for the right to love you. Choose you this day who you will serve.