Life. Or. Death.

And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. He who stays in this city shall die.., but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live…”

Jeremiah 21: 8-9 ESV

In Jeremiah we find a familiar story of Israel’s repetitive rebellion and God’s necessary judgment. In the land God had provided for them, they had become comfortable and complacent. They had forgotten the One that had brought them out of Egypt and into the promised land. They had built idols and filled the sanctuary with dead gods who did not have the ability to hear their prayers, let alone answer them. Their choice to break the covenant they had with the one true God meant that they would face judgment – they would be taken into captivity by their enemy.

In the middle of this judgment, however, God extended mercy. He told them that they had a choice. It was a choice to go willingly into captivity, to leave their comforts, to leave their idols, to leave their past sin and failures behind and face the unwelcome path before them, or they could stay in the city they had filled with their idols and rebellion. It was a painful choice, a difficult one, except that really it all came down to one thing – it was a choice of life or death. Go and live. Stay and die.

And today, I find myself facing the same kind of choice that Israel faced so long ago. The first week of 2023 has already come to an end, along with many of our “resolutions.” But I still have a choice of what this new year is going to be.

There are places in my heart that I have filled with my own idols. It is an easy thing to do. We can fill our hearts with idols of apathy, pride, and entertainment. We can build monuments to bitterness, shame, and anger. If I, like David, cry out for God to search my heart, I know that He will find things I would prefer to leave hidden. He would push me out of areas that I find comfortable and easy. He would present me with a choice.

And although, like Israel, the choice I face this year involves moving out of my comfort zone, abandoning my idols, and trusting that He can keep me wherever He leads me, it is still about the same thing – it’s a choice of a life and death.

I can stay where I am. I can cling to my own idols. You can too. We can hold on to our memorials of whatever it is that we value more than our relationship with God. We can stay comfortable, or we can live. We can step out in faith, and choose life for ourselves, for our families, for our children.

The choice is ours. Let’s make 2023 the year we choose life.