Somewhere I read this quote:

What is Life?

They say it is from B to D – from Birth to Death.

But what’s between B and D?  It’s a C.  So what is C?

It is a Choice.

Life is a matter of choices.

And, if you are like me, sometimes that is good and sometimes that seems not so good.  For example, there are days when I wish someone would just make all the decisions for me from what to put on in the morning to what to eat for lunch to what to do about a problem at work and, surely, what to serve for dinner.  (How many ways can you cook chicken!)

My pastor preached a sermon once about our stuff and how much of our time, energy, mental faculties, etc. are consumed by our stuff.  I remember him saying that if you only owned two shirts, chances are one would be on your back and the other in your closet.  Not a lot to think about there – you’re either wearing one or the other. (Hmm, definitely a message there for us ladies, but I won’t touch that one today.)

The fact of the matter is that we have choices in life.  In America, we tend to have the luxury (or the headache) of a lot of choices.  Our closets, for the most part, are full.  Our pantries are full.  Our days are full.  We are constantly bombarded by choices.

When it comes to life, I think the “choice” is whether to choose to live or just to exist until death.

And, yes, even in this we have a choice because Our Father has given us free will – the ability to make certain choices.

Consider Deuteronomy 30:11-20. (Please read the full text; I’ve shared an excerpt here.)

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven… Nor is it beyond the sea… No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. “But if your heart turns away and you will not obey… you shall surely perish. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants – by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days. (NASB)

I love this text!  It seems to have in mind those of us who simply don’t want the pressure of another choice, another decision.  This is essentially a no-brainer; “what I am commanding is not too difficult for you.”  There are but two choices – life and prosperity or death and destruction.  Like those two shirts, you’re either choosing one or the other.

For years I struggled to have children.  After many pills, procedures and prayers the time seemed right.  My OB/GYN told me to act immediately, but a lot else was going on in life, so I told him I wasn’t ready to decide.  I will never forget his response – “By not deciding, you are deciding!”  Wow!  That bit of wisdom is apropos for much of life (maybe all of life.)  By not deciding, we are deciding.  The author of Deuteronomy tells us to love the Lord, to walk in His ways, to keep His commands, to obey His voice, to hold fast to Him.  This is life and the length of our days.  And the opposite (the other choice) brings the opposite – death.

What is Life?  It is from B to D by way of C – our choices.  Choose life!