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Monday September 2^nd, Deuteronomy 30: Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 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, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.   Most of us in this scenario would want to choose life.  It sounds good, it sounds holy, and it sounds fulfilling and whole.  Choosing life, on the surface, always seems good.  But what that choice also means is that we choose to love God, obey God, and hold fast to God. Life is like an equation, what happens on one side of the = sign, effects what happens on the other. Choosing life is not free; it also means we choose a life of loving God and the hard work of loving others.  It means we often choose the life of taking the lowest seat, remembering that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Choosing life means we take the path of a servant, putting the needs of others as we would put the need of serving Jesus because that which you do onto the least of these you do onto me.  Choosing life in God is not just a “take the grace and run thing,” it is responding to the grace given by purposely living a life of living gracefully with and for others.  We do not often do this part of the equation so well, but at least most of us try from time to time.  At those times when we wander off the path, forgetting our part of the equation, is where God’s love and forgiveness come in.