Choose Life - Grace That Empowers Decision

 Choose Life - Grace That Empowers Decision

September 7, 2025 – Proper 18, Year C – EUMC & BCUMC
Scripture Texts: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1:1-21; Luke 14:25-33

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Introduction: Standing at the Crossroads

Every day we make choices. Some are trivial—what to wear, what to eat for breakfast. Others carry weight that extends far beyond the moment. We choose careers that shape decades of our lives. We choose relationships that define our hearts. We choose words that can heal or wound. But among all the choices we face, there is one that stands above all others—a choice so fundamental that it determines the very meaning of our existence.

Today’s scriptures present us with this ultimate choice, painted in the starkest possible terms: two ways of living that lead to vastly different destinations. From Moses’ final charge to the people of Israel to Jesus’ radical call to discipleship, we see the same profound truth echoing through the ages. God places before us two distinct paths and calls us to choose life, but this choice requires counting the cost and making deliberate commitments.

This isn’t a decision we can avoid or postpone indefinitely. The crossroads is here. The choice is now. And the stakes could not be higher.

Moses’ Final Appeal (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)

The Clear Presentation of Options

Moses, nearing the end of his extraordinary life, speaks with the urgency of a man who knows his time is short. His words in Deuteronomy 30:15 are clear: “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.”

This isn’t abstract philosophy debated in ivory towers. Moses is presenting concrete realities that will shape every aspect of their existence. The path of life, he explains, involves loving God, walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments. This isn’t mere rule-following for its own sake—it’s the natural response of hearts aligned with their Creator.

In our Wesleyan understanding, we see here the beautiful connection between obedience and flourishing. When we align ourselves with God’s ways, we’re not submitting to arbitrary restrictions but embracing the very design for which we were created. Holy living isn’t about earning God’s favor—it’s about living in harmony with the rhythm of grace that already beats at the heart of creation.

The Warning Against Apostasy

But Moses doesn’t sugarcoat the alternative. “But if your heart turns away and you do not hear,” he warns, “and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish.”

Notice where this begins—with the heart. The heart is the center of choice and commitment, the place where our deepest loyalties are forged. Moses understands that rebellion against God doesn’t typically begin with dramatic external acts but with subtle internal shifts. Hearts turn away. Ears become deaf to God’s voice. And once the heart is captured by other allegiances, the rest of life inevitably follows.

The consequences Moses describes aren’t arbitrary punishments imposed by an angry deity. They’re the natural result of choosing a path that leads away from the Source of life itself. In his profound respect for human freedom, God allows us to walk away, even when he knows where that path leads.

The Urgent Call to Decision

The intensity builds as Moses reaches his climax: “I 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.”

The urgency is palpable. Heaven and earth are summoned as witnesses to this momentous choice. But notice the scope—Moses reminds them that their choice affects not just themselves but their descendants, their communities, entire generations yet to be born. Our decisions ripple outward in ways we can barely imagine.

And yet, even in this moment of cosmic significance, God’s heart is revealed: “Choose life.” This isn’t the command of a tyrant but the plea of a loving Father who desires our flourishing but will never force it upon us. The choice is genuinely ours to make.

The Portrait of Two Ways (Psalm 1)

The Way of the Righteous

The psalmist paints a vivid portrait of what choosing life actually looks like in practice. “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.”

This isn’t about following a set of external rules but about finding genuine delight in God’s ways. The righteous person described here has discovered something beautiful—that God’s law isn’t a burden but a gift, not a constraint but a pathway to freedom.

The result? “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.”

What a picture of stability, fruitfulness, and endurance! Like a tree with roots reaching deep into life-giving waters, those who choose God’s way find a source of strength that doesn’t depend on changing circumstances.

From our Wesleyan perspective, we understand that this isn’t legalism—it’s the loving response to grace. When we’ve experienced God’s mercy and love, delighting in his ways becomes as natural as a tree reaching toward sunlight.

The Way of the Wicked

The contrast is stark and unmistakable. “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”

Chaff—the worthless husks separated from grain, light and empty, blown about by every wind. This is the picture of life lived apart from God: unstable, rootless, ultimately empty of substance.

“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.”

There’s a profound loneliness in this image. Those who choose the path away from God find themselves unable to stand when tested, isolated from the community of faith, adrift in their own choices.

The Lord’s Knowledge and Care

But the psalm ends with a beautiful affirmation: “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

The word “watches over” suggests not distant observation but intimate care and protection. God’s providential love surrounds those who choose his path, while the way of the wicked leads naturally to its own destruction.

The Cost of Discipleship (Luke 14:25-33)

The Radical Nature of Jesus’ Call

Jesus never made discipleship sound easy or comfortable. As large crowds followed him, he turned and confronted them with words that must have stopped many in their tracks: “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.”

In Semitic languages like Hebrew, the comparative use of “hate” and “love” is an idiom that expresses preference and rejection, or “loving one more than another,” rather than our modern emotional concepts of love and hate.

Think of it as hyperbolic language, the kind of stark imagery Jesus often used to emphasize ultimate loyalty. He’s not advocating literal hatred of family but making clear that following him must take precedence over every other relationship, no matter how precious.

“Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” The cross wasn’t jewelry in Jesus’ day—it was an instrument of execution. To carry one’s cross meant being willing to die, to surrender everything, to follow wherever he might lead.

The message is unmistakable: discipleship isn’t a casual commitment or a convenient addition to an otherwise unchanged life. It’s a complete reorientation of priorities and loyalties.

The Necessity of Counting the Cost

But Jesus doesn’t want uninformed decisions. He tells two parables that emphasize the importance of careful consideration.

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’”

Then: “Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?”

These aren’t stories about construction projects or military strategy. They’re about the wisdom of understanding what we’re committing to before we make the commitment. Jesus doesn’t want followers who will abandon the path when it becomes difficult. He wants disciples who have chosen deliberately, with full knowledge of what lies ahead.

The All-or-Nothing Demand

Jesus concludes with words that leave no room for partial commitment: “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean literal poverty, but it does mean proper priorities. Everything we have, everything we are, must be held with open hands, available to God’s purposes rather than clutched tightly for our own security.

In our Wesleyan tradition, we understand this as a matter of the heart’s allegiance rather than external rules. It’s about recognizing that our ultimate treasure is not found in what we can accumulate but in our relationship with Christ.

Choosing Life Today

The Choice Remains Before Us

Every generation faces this same fundamental decision. The specific forms may change, but the essential choice remains: Will we choose the way of life or the way of death?

In our time, the two ways might appear as materialism versus generosity, self-centeredness versus service, fear versus faith, isolation versus community. The choice is both initial—that moment of conversion when we first turn toward God—and ongoing. Sanctification is a daily choosing of God’s way over our own.

The Wesleyan Understanding of Choice

Our Wesleyan heritage offers us beautiful insights into how these choices work. We believe in prevenient grace—God’s grace that goes before, enabling us to respond to his call even in our brokenness. We don’t choose God from a position of spiritual strength but because he has already been at work in our hearts, preparing us to receive his love.

When we do respond, justifying grace meets us—God’s forgiveness that declares us righteous not because of our works but because of Christ’s sacrifice. And as we continue on the journey, sanctifying grace works to transform us, making us more like Christ as we keep choosing his way day by day.

But here’s the crucial point: we can resist grace. God’s love is powerful but not coercive. He continues to offer his grace even when we turn away, but he won’t force himself upon us. The choice remains genuinely ours.

Practical Steps in Choosing Life

So how do we choose life in practical terms?

First, through daily spiritual disciplines. Like the person in Psalm 1 who meditates on God’s law day and night, we need regular practices that keep our hearts aligned with God’s heart—prayer, scripture reading, worship, service.

Second, by honestly counting the cost, as Jesus urged. We need to regularly examine our priorities and commitments. What are we holding too tightly? Where are we trying to serve two masters? What needs to be surrendered?

Third, by acting with love and justice in our relationships. The letter to Philemon reminds us that our choices affect others. How we treat people—especially those with less power or privilege—reveals which way we’re really choosing.

Fourth, by remembering that our choices ripple outward. Like Moses reminded Israel, what we choose affects not just us but our families, our communities, future generations. We choose not just for ourselves but for all those our lives will touch.

The Community’s Role

And we don’t make these choices alone. We’re part of the body of Christ, called to encourage one another in the way of life. We need accountability and support in discipleship. The church exists not just to comfort us but to challenge us, not just to affirm us but to help us grow.

When we see brothers and sisters struggling with their choices, we’re called to come alongside them with grace and truth. When we ourselves are tempted by the way that leads to death, we need the courage to ask for help and the humility to receive it.

Conclusion: The Invitation Stands

God continues to set before us life and death, blessing and curse. The invitation is urgent but never coercive. The choice is real and the consequences significant, but God’s grace remains sufficient for all who choose him.

Christ has shown us what choosing life looks like—perfect love expressed through perfect obedience, even unto death. He has walked the way of the cross so that we might have the way of life.

The crossroads is before us today. The two ways stretch out in different directions, leading to vastly different destinations. Heaven and earth are witnesses to the choice we make.

What will you choose today? Will you choose the way that leads to life—life abundant, life eternal, life lived in harmony with our Creator’s design? Will you count the cost and commit yourself fully to following Christ, regardless of where he leads?

The invitation stands. God’s heart remains the same as it was in Moses’ day: “Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.” His grace is sufficient. His love is unfailing. His call is clear.

The choice is yours.