Attention, Israel! God, our God! God the one and only! Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!

Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.
Deuteronomy 6: 4-9, MSG

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I used to think that God wanted us to know His ways so that we could perfectly follow them and grow to be like Jesus. While in a sense that is true, it breaks down pretty quickly once we add the fall (sin) into the equation!   

When we look at God’s ways (or the Law), I l think about it this way: He knew that we would live amidst the battle between good and evil here on earth. Residing within His ways best insulates us from attacks from the enemy. Outside of His ways, we are prime for attack. We are often tempted to reject who He says we are and instead believe untruths about ourselves. 

He tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that “we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world… evil spirits in the heavenly places.”  So, instead of giving us His ways so that we can perfectly adhere to them (because we can’t—and He knew it, graciously covering that with Jesus), He uses them to offer guidelines to protect us from the guiles of the enemy. 

Because the enemy tempts each of us differently (based on how God created us), God’s guidelines cover a large breadth of areas. But His overarching “guideline” of all is to love Him with all we have.  

If we do that, we will experience a growing desire to love others in His grace-filled, non-critical, non-judging, open-armed way. And the folks who haven’t experienced a love like this will through us. Once someone has received this love of the Father through another human, the better chance they have of seeking it directly from Him and being open to a relationship with Jesus. His love is the best evangelism tool out there!  

So the guidelines are important, not to carry out perfectly, but instead, as a loving protection from the attacks of the enemy. He invites us to speak them to our family and teach them to our children—and just as importantly, He invites us to share our inner experience of Him with anyone/everyone He places in our path.  Although our encounters with Him are between Him and us, it is through our sharing of Him with our community that His love carries, and we bring Heaven to earth.  

Next Steps

When you consider following God’s ways, what comes to mind? Do you get excited and eager to spend more time with Him? Or, do you feel discouraged and unsure? Spend some time reflecting on that question and consider journaling your answer and look for God’s response.