“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” Deuteronomy 30:19
Every day, I have a choice. Do I choose life? Or do I choose death?
Do I choose life in the decisions I make: the thoughts that I think, the actions I take?
Do I choose life in the words that I speak? Am I a life-giver or a life-crusher when I open my mouth? Do I choose life by truly listening? Or do I run over people with my words and body language?
Do I choose life when I harbor grudges and nurse resentment? Do I choose life in the way that I treat others? Do I choose life with my co-workers? Do I choose life with the person pumping gas next to me at the gas station? What about my neighbors that I haven’t even met yet? What about the family member that makes things oh-so-difficult sometimes? Or the guy who stands at the intersection with a cardboard sign asking for help?
How have I chosen life with these people?
It’s easy to choose life with the people who look like me, act like me, talk like me, and think like me. But what about people who don’t do any of those things? Do I choose life with them? Do I choose life when choosing life goes against everything that feels natural to me?
Choosing life can be hard.
That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it.
I want to be so wrapped up in the Giver of Life that choosing life just comes naturally for me. I want to be so full of life that it flows from me. No. More than that. It oozes out of every fiber of my being.
I have a choice to make every day. You do, too.
And it’s much more than a catchy slogan. Much more than a bumper sticker. Much more than a license plate.
The Tale of Anakin Redeemed 