"What is it to Choose a Christ-Centered Life?"
"Now, choose life. Then you and your children may live.
To choose life is to love the Lord your God, obey Him and stay close to Him.
He is your life..."
(Deuteronomy 30: 19b - 20a)
Life is made of choices. At different moments, we are given different choices. Each choice has its own demands. Each of them demands different kinds of sacrifices. And all of our choices have their results. One of those choices that we made sometime in our lives was to live a Christ-centered Life. When we had chosen this life, we had also made a decision to abide by what this life demands. And, that is where a big question comes in. "What does it mean to choose life? What are the demands of this life?"
The Israelites, when they were at the verge of entering into the promised land after 40 years of travel from Egypt, they were given a choice - life or death. Life and success or death and destruction. Before they entered the promised land, they were asked to make this choice. The future of their nation depended on this choice. Deuteronomy 30: 11 - 20 describes the weight of this choice. And this choice was not just in words but was expected to be reflected in the way they lived this chosen life too.
What is it to choose life? What is in it? What is expected to show that we are choosing life over destruction? When you made the choice to live a Christ-centered Life, what did you mean? What is in there for you? Let us search the answers by exploring this question in light of this passage. "To choose life is to love the Lord your God, obey Him and stay close to Him. He is your life..." (Deuteronomy 30: 20a)
To choose life is to love the Lord your God
When you know that you have been given this precious life to live, you know it is to love the Lord your God. If you had chosen to live a Christ-centered Life, then that was a choice that expressed your earnest willingness to love the Lord your God. This love is expressed in your relationship with Him. This love is grown in your understanding of Him. This is what the choice of life contains. The choice to live is to see things the way how God sees them. It nurtures in you this wholehearted adoration to God.
To choose life is to obey the Lord your God
The love that you have in the Lord begins with the practice of obeying Him. Obedience is what builds this relationship. It is the simple obedience to God's word and His commands is the confirmation that you are loving the Lord. Saying that you love the Lord on one side and not able to obey the Lord is very problematic. If you have chosen to love a God-led life, then you have already made a wonderful choice to obey God. A life that pleases God will be a life where you are ready to obey what the Lord your God tells you. No human logic, no calculations, no justifications, but to trust in the Lord and obey what He tells you.
To choose life is to stay close to the Lord your God.
This choice of life is a journey. It is not just about a single encounter with God. The choice you have made to follow Christ Jesus is not a once in a lifetime moment, but it is a journey with Him. And the choice demands a closer walk with the Lord. This choice we have made is about staying close to the Lord our God, listening to what He says, following His footsteps, being able to understand Him and able to move with Him. Nothing in this world could come between the Lord and you. And that is this choice of being a follower of Christ Jesus. It is this beautiful intimacy which decorates this choice of being a follower of Christ.
Once the above three elements of your choice of life are working together, there is a bigger realization to be accepted and that is "He is your life." It will be wonderful to witness, that over the long and faithful journey in Christ-centered life, Christ Himself has become your life. Everything around you revolves with a purpose. And this purpose-driven life comes out of your love, obedience and intimacy towards God. This total submission to the Lord helps you to understand that it not about your life and your choice to live for God, but in the long run, Christ has become your life. Everything that is part of your life becomes a reflection of what He is and you begin to see that Jesus has begun to be a part of everything that is your life. Christ becomes your life.
I pray that the Lord our God will help each one of us to once again look at the choice we had made in our lives to follow Him. May the choice we had made be meaningful to us so that the fruits of these choices would bring in blessings in our lives. May the providence of our God, the grace of our Lord Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit be with us and help us to live our lives with meaningful choices.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
"Just a Closer Walk with Thee"
