Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (NRSV)
Read Deuteronomy 30:15-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 15See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. Verse 16If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. Verse 17But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, Verse 18I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. Verse 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, Verse 20loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Devotion
“Life ain’t about how fast you run, or how high you climb. It’s about how good you bounce.” I chuckled when I first read those words, but the more I think about inevitable disappointments and tragedies, the more I realize “life is about how you bounce”.
Those words, of course, come from “country wisdom” rather than the book of Deuteronomy, but the writer of Deuteronomy gives a clue about how we can get and keep good ‘bounce’ in our lives. “Love the Lord your God and walk in his ways.”
This can be read as a command, but I hear it as an invitation! Life is God’s precious gift to us and we are God’s beloved. Do you know anyone who loves God and walks in his ways that does not have amazing ‘bounce’ in their lives?
Prayer
Good and gracious God, we know too well about falls and disappointments. Things happen to us about which we long for answers and explanations. Yet, deepest of all, O God, we long for your presence with us as you raise us from death and disappointment. In the name of the Resurrected One, Amen.