Okay, I skipped all the way from Exodus 20 (The Ten Commandments) to Deuteronomy--skipping the entire books of Leviticus (check out chapters 16-17) and Numbers (check out 6:24-26--very famous benediction/blessing). The book of Deuteronomy is a big summary of what happened in the previous four books. It recaps major events and reminds the nation of Israel--one more time before entering the Promised land--who God is and who they are as God's people.
While Deuteronomy 5 also contains the Ten Commandments, chapter 6 is one of the most formative passages in the Jewish religion: "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..." (v. 5)
Every Hebrew child memorized this verse and the larger passage. And later in the New Testament, when asked to name the greatest of all the commandments, Jesus referred back to this command: Love God with your entire being--heart, soul, mind and strength. Jesus added a second command that flowed out of the first: love your neighbor as yourself (see. Matthew 22:37-39).
Why is this a key life verse? Because loving God is the key to a life well lived. People who don't love God, or deny God, or marginalize/trivialize God end up living for themselves. That makes perfect sense. If there is not God that puts me at the center of my universe.
The problem with that is that my self-centered, self-absorbed life never leads me in the direction I desire--a life of peace, joy, meaning and significance. When life is all about me, me is not a very happy camper. But when the focus of my life becomes God--to love and honor him above all else--everything else falls into place.
Jesus put it this way: "Seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And everything else you need (for daily living) will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33)
Make loving God and serving people the number one aim of your life. Start today. Do it again tomorrow. If you string enough of those days together you will end up with a legacy beyond your wildest imagination. And you will end up wildly fulfilled.
0 comments:
Post a Comment