Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV
The Context:
Moses had led the people of Israel for quite some time. It had been an eventual journey, with so many twists and turns. The people had seen God act at the Red Sea, also seen his mighty works on Mount Sinai, his dealings with Moses' siblings: Miriam and Aaron, Aaron's sons: Nadab and Abihu, the rebellious Korah, Dathan and Abiram and several other incidents. Moses had fought wars with men who had never fought one before, yet because God was with them, it was one victory after another.
The people of Israel had seen provision of food in ways that were not normal. It was consistent provision every blessed day, except the day before the Sabbath, where double provision was made the day before. Whether it was rainy or sunny, or a war had to be fought tomorrow, or there was a punishment for rebellion going on, the provisions never stopped for one day for 40 years, until the people were able to eat of the produce of the promised land.
You have got to have awe and fear for a God who can deal with man this way. It didn't matter if they were in sin or they didn't acknowledge God as the One who brought them out of slavery; God was going to keep His Word. If you do not consider this love, I do not know any other way Love from God's perspective can be explained. How do you keep a nation wandering for 40 years until a whole generation died? How do you keep feeding, protecting and giving them victory in battle if you know that they aren't going anywhere? How do you keep other nations from oppressing them in the wilderness, even though they were a constant emotional drain? It got so bad that a man, described by God as the meekest man on earth, was moved to a temporary moment of anger which cost him dearly.
The Message:
One thing is clear: there is nothing that can limit the work of God in my life more than my own unbelief and carelessness. Moses' fate was sealed at this time: he was not getting into Canaan, but that did not stop God from speaking to Him and giving instructions for daily life of the people of Israel. God's love is so awesome that even in sin, I can make a living. This is why preaching salvation can be hard sometimes; people don't see the immediate consequences of their actions, so they get complacent and careless.
And we note that today's extract is a list of commands, decrees and laws. It is not a negotiation where I get to choose which ones I will live by; it is not a consultation where I have a right to decide which rules and region govern my conduct; with God, it is a 'Do this, and live' situation. These are commands, and it means that the proof of my connection with God will be seen from my heart of obedience to God's instructions.
And to make matters even better, my actions today are the founding blocks for my children's experiences. One of the devil's most popular lies is that not everything I do has eternal impact. Oh, it does. Adam and Eve eating the apple led us down the path of sin, and Jesus' sacrifice on the cross also led us up the path to salvation. My actions today have the weight of eternity attached to them.
Am I teaching my children to love and fear God? Can they see the practical part of this lesson in my own life? Am I all about optics and drama, with no depth or substance?
This means that it matters where the source of the supply is: is it a thing of just my lips or is my heart also in it? We note that in loving God, it starts from the parts no man can see to the part that man can see and interpret the way s/he likes. Men can be deceived by outward show: human applause has been the downfall of many people. With God, pretence is not an option. I cannot fool Him with external piety which has no inner conviction.
The Response:
What then is expected of me? It has to be less of public expectations and more of God's demands on my life. The world's standards keep shifting; nothing ever stays the same. With God, I am expected to love Him with all I am first, before I can dare to offer Him what I can do. What is the use of service from a heart that is not totally surrendered to God? What kind of service would that be?
Amaziah was a king of whom it was said that he served God all the days of his life, but NOT with a perfect heart. Don't come to God thinking you can get away with eyeservice and hypocrisy; several people had tried that in the past and failed. God demands love from the heart, the kind that is not forced, but receives it from God with joy, and then gives and shows it freely back to God and the world in general.
It is my heart and soul first, before my strength. The world will seek to turn it around, emphasising the physical and the emotional side of activity, rather than the spiritual impact of activity. For all who fully understand what is at stake, check your heart again: is the love of God, commanded and sustained by Him flowing in and through you? Am I adhering to the command to love God, or am I good at pretending? I must remember: only man can be fooled, and only for a short while. God cannot be mocked. His time of favour is here.
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