February 16

Day 249: The One Who Holds Fast to Me

(Facebook is apparently having a bad day. Or maybe Facebook has cursed me, as an enemy of the state. This is now my third attempt to write this blog post this morning. The previous attempts have been suddenly vaporized. I am now writing this with some very demonstrative keystrokes, that may be rattling the neighborhood. Without apology on my part.)

I finished up reading Deuteronomy this morning (now several hours ago.) As mentioned previously, Deuteronomy is one long sermon, the final discourse Moses gives the Israelites.

After reiterating the entire Law, and recounting their recent history, and remembering God’s faithfulness, Moses then leaves them with a choice to make, at the end of chapter 30.

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.”

The broader context for this last bit of the sermon is that Moses just told them, predicted that they would make a right mess of it, foul it all up, even within a generation. Not hopeful at all. And yet, Moses is offering them hope. Gospel hope. And how to receive that hope.

“Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him.”

I rather love the notion of holding fast to God. It’s like holding fast to the hands of a preschoolers, while teaching them how to safely cross a city street. Except, in this case, it’s God who is the parent.

Left to my own self, my hands can be slippery. I am inconsistent at best when it comes to holding fast to God. While I love the picture, I also see how I am not always too good at doing so.

Neither were the Israelites in the generations that followed Moses. They did, in fact, mess it all up, in some unspeakable ways, with horrific results. But, we who now live on this side of the New Covenant, it kind of works differently for us.

Romans 5:9-10 tells us, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

That’s a Bible way of saying, since it cost God so much to justify us in His eyes, why would He let go of us who are His now? He wouldn’t. And He won’t.

He is the one who grabs my hand. He is the one who promises to never let go. He is the one who insures that my choice is now life over death, and blessing over curse.

So why wouldn’t I want to love Him, obey Him, and hold fast to the One who holds fast to me?