Better than Anything Else

God says, in our passage from Deuteronomy last Sunday, that we have to choose “life and prosperity” or “death and adversity.” And God commands us to obey his word. And Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me and obeys my word shall not perish but have eternal life.” God says that we have to choose.

So we have to choose—God or the world? Do we choose our phone, or prayer? Do we choose jealousy, or love? Do we choose our job, or fellowship? Do we choose our friends, or Jesus? Do we choose our houses, or the House of God? Do we choose to keep our things for ourselves, or do we choose to be generous? Do we choose death, or life?

“Loving 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.” God tells us to choose him over the world, so that we have eternal life.

But this is not easy. The world possesses us, so we give our attention to the world. That is why we spend five days working for our lives and have trouble giving even an hour to God. We put so much of our focus on the world—on our jobs, our phones, the news, and so on—because we want to be in control.

But Psalm 1 tells us the blessing that comes when we choose God.

It says that those who “delight in the law of the Lord”—those who follow Jesus—“are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; everything they do shall prosper.”

For those who are in Jesus, their lives are green like trees planted by water.

For us, to choose our work, our phones, the news, and so on seems like it will make our lives better, but the psalm tells us that when we choose Jesus, it is better than anything else. When we choose Jesus, we flourish. When we choose Jesus, we choose life.

Father Isaiah+