Choose Life, a Reflection on Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Moses was speaking to a people who had been through the wilderness together and were now at the brink of entering the promised land. He preached to them about what their new lives could be like.

"God has given you instruction on how to live a life full of blessings. Now, choose to live that way. If you don't choose to walk in the way that God intends, you will miss out on those blessings."

Rather than being a burden, the law is seen as a vehicle.

Shelley Cochran, in the Pastor's Underground Guide to the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, brings up a point that I had missed:

Jesus, however, says things are not quite that simple. Following him can lead to a cross. In fact, the consequences of following him can sometimes be so difficult that Jesus urges people to think twice before they choose to do so.