Key to Life

It was a beautiful day for a trip. Easter with the family had been wonderful and now we were off to visit Granddad. We figured it would take about six hours to drive from the Bay Area to Southern California. As the hours passed, disgruntled voices from the back of the van could be heard. “She’s glaring at me!” “Her stuff is on my side!” “That’s mine!” “Are we there yet?” The close confines of a car seat, long hours on the road, and boredom create the perfect environment for frayed tempers and harsh words from our three granddaughters. It reminds me of the story I have been reading this Spring about the children of Israel and their journey in the wilderness to the Promised Land. “We don’t have any food!” “There is no water!” “I don’t like this food, I want meat!” “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” They complained, whined, argued, bickered, and pouted just like any group of children. Moses, their leader, constantly reprimanded them for their stubbornness and disobedience. Yet, God was there each step of the way and patiently supplied them with what they needed. He provided manna each morning for them to eat. He poured water out of a rock in the middle of the desert. Quail, too numerous to count, fell to the ground for them to roast. Their shoes never wore out (as a shoe person, this caught my attention). Time and again they whimpered about their missing comforts. Their memories were so short that going back to Egypt as slaves seemed like a better alternative. How often we, too, mistake the past as the best time in our lives. Even when God promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, prosperity, long life, and health, they just could not seem to wrap their minds around it and their hearts were too stubborn to listen.

“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! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NLT)

We do the same thing today. God offers us life – for all of eternity – and we trade that offer for the fading glitz of today or even yesterday. What is the key to life? Love and obey the Lord.

So don't look back, be bold, and step out to the promise of life that only He can give.