By Glenn Metts
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church, Seymour
Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 6:1-13
Loving and worshiping God is the greatest enjoyment in all of life. I believe that. I love what the Westminster Shorter Catechism states when it says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Those words were written in 1647. That thought is the heart of our passage this week. Written about 1407 B.C., the heart of Deuteronomy 6:1-13, is that we love the Lord preeminently in our lives. To love Him is to worship him and to walk in obedience to Him in every area of our lives. As our lesson states, “loving God with all of one’s being leads to obedience.”
Moses is reminding a new generation of the commands, decrees and laws that God has spoken. Although he won’t be going with them into the promised land, he is teaching them who God is and that their lives are to be centered around loving, worshiping, and obeying Him.
Moses has been their leader, and he is much like a father making sure these truths are ingrained into their minds, and more importantly their hearts. Verses 6-9 speak of the importance of teaching these truths and living them. These things were to be upon their hearts. They were to impress them on their children. They were to talk about them when they sat at home or walked along the road and when they went to bed and when they got up. In other words, they were to be very careful to pass this on to the next generation. They were not to forget.
Glenn Metts
A good question for us to ask ourselves as followers of Christ in 2020 is: Are we as diligent to teach our children who God is and why He is worthy of our worship and obedience today?
At the heart of obeying the commands of God is our love for Him. It’s all about our relationship with a loving Heavenly Father. When we come to Deuteronomy 6:4-5, we find what is called the Shema. The children of Israel were reminded that the Lord is one God. David Jeremiah, in his commentary on these verses stated, “it reaffirms the monotheistic core of Judaism. Verse 5 is what Jesus quoted in answer to the Pharisee’s question of what the greatest commandment was.
The greatest commandment, Jesus said, is to love God with all that we have and are: heart, soul, mind, strength, time, talent, treasure, dreams, gifts, and abilities. When we love God that way, we live a life of worship.” When we truly love God, it always leads to worship and obedience in the life of a believer.
As we consider the truth the Scripture presents, it should cause us to examine our own hearts in light of this truth. There was a mother who attended a Mom’s Bible study group. During their discussion, the question was asked, “How early in a child’s life ought one to begin to influence him toward God?” After some discussion, a grandmother was asked to make a comment. In essence, she said, “I began with my first child 20 years before she was born by giving myself to Jesus Christ!”
As believers, we must never forget that knowing and worshiping God, trusting in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and walking obediently is our purpose. That foundation in our lives will impact not only our lives, our families, and friends, but it will impact those coming behind us. B&R — Metts is pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, Seymour.
