A Matter of the Heart
Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 6:1-9
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Sometimes we’re in a situation where we have to socialize with people we don’t like very much. Good manners demand that we pretend to enjoy other people’s company. So we smile politely, listen to conversations, try to get along, and make it through the event. But we’re glad when it’s over and we can go do something else.
How about in our walk with God? Do we truly delight in being in God’s presence?
Moses shows that obedience to God isn’t something we can just pretend for a while. God’s commands penetrate to the core of our being—they are to be “on our hearts.” Obedience calls for a total commitment to our Lord. That’s why Moses teaches, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Moses explains further that parents must constantly teach God’s commands to their 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.”
Walking is good exercise for the heart. That is one reason my wife and I walk every morning. But walking with God is a matter of the heart in a different sense: it’s a round-the-clock commitment. Anything less will not do. God does not want us to obey him some of the time in a half-hearted way. He wants all of us all the time!
Lord, help me to walk wholeheartedly with you. May I do so with my whole being, every moment of every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
About the author — Adrian A. Helleman
Dr. Adrian Helleman served as a pastor in British Columbia before being called to serve as a missionary-teacher in the Philippines. He and his wife, Wendy, later taught philosophy at Moscow State University in Russia, and then philosophy and theology at the University of Jos in Nigeria. They have also lectured in Canada, the United States, South Africa, and Tanzania. They have three children and three grandchildren.
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