GOD’S WORDS BRING LIFE
The Link to Life
(Deuteronomy 32:45–47)
Often in life we find that one particular thing serves as a bridge to get us from where we are to where we want to be. For example, a college student desires an invitation into an honor society, and all that stands between her and that goal is her final grade on a critical exam. Or perhaps a newly formed company is teetering on the brink of financial ruin. Securing a key contract will prevent bankruptcy. These and other scenarios, some large and some small, are daily occurrences. Most are very inconsequential—in other words, there is more than one way to achieve the desired goal. Others are totally dependent on one—and only one—event coming to pass.
All human beings share one critical link, one bridge to the next step, one defining reality that stands between success and failure both in time and for eternity. It is not one of the inconsequential “either/or” kinds of links. It is the most important “if/then” link that will confront any person in life. It was first expressed by God through Moses to the Israelites. God told Israel, “If you will obey the words that I have given you (the law, or the covenant), then you will live. If you don’t obey them, then you will not live.” Therefore, the one passageway on the Israelites’ quest for life was obedience to God’s word as expressed through the law. In fact, life was so bound to the keeping of the law that Moses told the Israelites, “[The word of this law] is your life” (Deut. 32:47).
Moses had just told the Israelites that the Lord was their life (Deut. 30:20), and because the Lord and His word are inseparable, His word was their life as well. Life was literally a choice for them: Embrace God’s words and live; ignore God’s words and die.
While the Mosaic Law is no longer the form of God’s word that is the believer’s sole link to life, God’s words are no less the bridge. Christ, the Living Word, came to bring life (John 10:10), and it is through His words that we gain it (John 15:7). Life is still a choice, both now and for eternity—walk the bridge God has provided, or search in vain for another way to get through life.
God’s Promise:
When you obey His word, you choose life.