Love Jehovah...The Only God!

Deuteronomy 6:3-9  -  Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 

Moses continues to pour out his heart to the children of Israel….as he tells them how important it is that they walk daily with the Lord. After all…these rules were not new to the people of Israel. They had known God for forty years now.  It was time they took their love to the next level…and made sure that the next generation was taught the importance of God’s love in their lives. It was time they amplified the love they had built for God over the last 40 years …and made very sure the miracles he sustained them with were never forgotten.

The very words written here are very clear.  We are to love Jehovah…the only God…with everything in our being… he is to be the passion in our hearts…our minds….our very soul.  We are to love him so much that his very rules are imprinted on our hearts. We are to teach them to our children…talk about them as we go about our day…and keep them evident in our homes.  God’s love should color everything about us…it should be just as evident when we shop for groceries…as it is when our hands are raised in worship on Sunday morning in church.

These great verses speak of our need to not just love God on the surface…but to truly reverence him…to have such a great feeling of profound awe and respect…that God is first in everything we do. The constant thoughts in our heart about his great love for us then drives us to put into action everything piece of wisdom he reveals from his word.  The wisdom becomes embedded into our hearts…and becomes a part of our very nature.  We can’t help but include him in everything we do…he becomes the love of our lives….that we simply can’t wait to talk to in the morning…and can’t lay our head down to rest without saying goodnight.  We find ourselves thinking about him throughout our day…and doodling his name on our paperwork...because we can’t get him out of our head.

I have to admit…as I do most mornings…that this is one directive I have never fully followed.  I can honestly say that God’s word is becoming something more important to me than ever before…but I have never worn his commands on my wrist or forehead.  Maybe I shouldn’t even question this directive…just do it. Surely in a world of creative jewelry I could come up with something to wear on my wrists and forehead that reminds me of the rules God wants me to follow.

Maybe it isn’t about wearing the rules so much as it is remembering to teach them to our children. I have to admit once again that I left most of the religious education for my family to the church we belonged to when they were children. They sure did not see their mom studying the bible daily….or blogging her thoughts each day on the internet…and now they are grown…completely out of the house…and one has a child of her own. 

Bottom line is…now I can do what I didn’t before.  I can model for anyone around me the love I have for God as I go about my daily routine. …be it a bow of the head to bless a meal in a public restaurant…or a quick mini lesson in my classroom at school when a bible story comes to mind to illustrate a concept or skill I need to teach.  Religious education should be life oriented…not information oriented.  We should use the context of where God has placed us each day to teach others about God.  He absolutely must be a part of our everyday life…not just a Sunday lesson at the church we attend.

Father…your words speak so clearly to me this morning.  I must increase the time and reverence I give to you throughout the day.  A simple morning visit…and reading a quick chapter each night does not begin to give you the time you need to change me completely into what you need me to be.  Walk with me today…and help me to include you in everything I do.  Write your rules on my very heart…so that they become a part of me…and help others to see your love.  Show me how to think about you all day long…so I can actively obey you in everything I do. Amen.