a blessing for life

let it be said of us while we walked among the living
let it be said of us by the ones we leave behind
let it be said of us that we lived to be a blessing for life
let it be said of us that we gave to reach the dying
let it be said of us by the fruit we leave behind
let it be said of us that our legacy is blessing for life

this day you set life you set death right before us
this day every blessing and curse is a choice now
and we will choose to be a blessing for life

let it be said of us that our hearts belonged to Jesus
let it be said of us that we spoke the words of life
let it be said of us that our heritage is blessing for life

because blessings and curses are choices
will we build up, tear down
the moment of truth is now
for your Kingdom
for our children
for the sake of every nation
we will choose to be a blessing for life

This song by John Waller is based on Deuteronomy 30:19 and surrounding verses, and in fact the whole Old Testament (it's on my playlist if you want to listen to it). A note about curses, because that may sound incredibly harsh to those who aren't familiar with the Bible and the balance between God's love and justice: before Christ came bringing grace into the picture at the perfect time in history, God's people were marked by their obedience to the law. Obedience was rewarded, and willful disobedience was punished, hence the curses. God did indeed bring evil upon people who blatantly disregarded his commands, and this because he's a God of justice as well as mercy and love. Sin brings curse as a natural consequence, but Jesus Christ has thankfully broken the curse of sin over our lives (praise God)! Given the context of the Old Testament though, every blessing and curse WAS a choice because of the free will with which he created people. Even though we now know the redemption that the ancient prophets and heroes of the faith could only welcome from a distance, we still enjoy spiritual blessings through obedience to Christ. Those blessings last from generation to generation, a truth that I witness every day through the way my dad influences my interactions with my son, from a thousand miles away. Psalm 103:17 says "from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children." Every time I hear this song on KLOVE (the best radio station ever, http://www.klove.com/), it brings me back around to the big picture. Man's life on earth is but a breath in the span of eternity, and as the psalmist says, we emerge from the dust like a flower only to return to it after a short lifespan. But, within that lifespan there is so much important that can happen. For M and me, leaving a Jesus-filled legacy for our children, speaking the words of life, choosing the blessings of God through obedience, building up rather than tearing down - that's what matters.