heeding his voice, and holding fast to him."
God sets a choice before us. In his love he wants us to choose life, but he won't force us. It wouldn't mean anything if it was forced. We are called to love. We find fulfillment in love. Love cannot be forced.
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."
The words of Jesus almost sound like a contrast with the first quote. But they aren't. Not really. In both, we are called to abandon ourselves to love. Only in Jesus can we see the full meaning and implications this choice implies. Not only is the price much steeper than we might have feared so too is the reward greater than we ought to have hoped. The cross is before us. So too is the resurrection. Divination and limitless love await.
Can we truly be a people who "delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night[?]" We may sing that psalm, even joyfully, but shouldn't we admit that the law seems to be a burden at times? Doesn't it seem oppressive when we think about it sincerely? Let us turn to the LORD and ask for his strength to make the hard choices to love. This is the true meaning of the law. It is not just oppressive without his help, it is impossible. How can there be freedom in the law? How can we truly delight in it? In the same way that the cross leads to Easter. In the same way that the death of self is the condition of the birth of true freedom. In him we can do all things. In his Spirit is freedom.
The LORD invites us to choose life. Let us follow that choice to the cross and beyond.
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