Choose Life
by Joel Raygor
Deuteronomy 30:19
"I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life."
Depending on the time of the year, the temperature, and rainfall, my wife will head to the woods to hunt mushrooms. She'll say, "Today could be the day they decide to pop out." Her favorites are Chicken Of The Woods, Golden Chanterelles, Hen Of The Woods, and of course Morels.
Actually, mushrooms don't just pop out, they grow to reproduce. They are the "fruit" of an underground network of fungus called mycelium. When the weather conditions are just right, this network sends up a mushroom to release tiny spores into the air, in the same way a plant grows a flower or fruit to produce seeds. The mycelium is underground and what we see and call the mushroom is actually the flower containing the fruiting part of the organism.
God's creation is an amazing thing to behold. God created all things full-grown and mature, but with the ability to reproduce, each one "according to its kind" (Gen. 1:11-12). The flower would bring forth flowers "according to its kind," the mushroom would bring forth mushrooms "according to its kind," and the human would bring forth humans "according to its kind." That's the way God designed it.
However, God gave humans something special... 'free will'. So even though I might look like my father or mother, I can choose to act differently and believe totally differently than they did.
Throughout the Bible we see examples of people making their own choices and then facing responsibility for their decisions. In Proverbs 16:9 King Solomon wrote, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
God tells the people in Deuteronomy 30:19, "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life." Every day we all have choices to make.
Joshua 24:15 "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve."
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