ORLANDO CHINESE CHURCH MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER, 2002
Love The Lord Thy God
Reading: Deut. 6:4-5, 20-23; 7:6-8; Mark 12:28-31
It is not unusual to encounter difficulties in life. The world is in turmoil with threatening wars and collapsing economy. We even feel that in our family life as well as our individual lives we are caught in this confusion. God uses the picture of Israel's wandering in the wilderness to describe our sojourn through this world as if through a great and fearful wilderness. It was hard for the Israelites, who lost faith and slowed down their steps, as they gradually forgot God's power and the wonders He performed once before their eyes when He led them out of Egypt. They even forgot where God promised to take them. In the routine of everyday journey in the wilderness, they missed the will of God who brought them out of Egypt in order to bring them into the promise land (Deut. 6:23).
Living in this world of wilderness, we also experience toil, snare and sorrow. Everyday we labor to meet our daily needs, and in our boredom we rarely have time to meditate on the goodness of the Lord. Many things become routine, even the spiritual matters are becoming a hollow ritual. We forget that God saved us from sin and delivered us from the power of darkness, in order to lead us into the fullness of Christ Jesus. He desires that we live victoriously and share His glory in His blessed presence.
One can imagine the Israelites who went out every morning to collect manna from above. When it became a routine, even the heavenly food tasted bland. When it was time to embark for a new day's journey, they would not care where to go: "wherever the pillar of cloud will stop!" Perhaps our spiritual lives are like that: The Sunday services, the daily devotion, the evening prayer …… Before we know it, all seem to have lost interest and purpose. Our appearance still remains spiritual, but deep inside it has become boring. We begin to complain that we are not fed, we have no path to follow, and we do not know where to go. Like the Israelites, we are given the heavenly manna, the best among all supplies, but to us it is now tasteless!
Therefore, in Deuteronomy when the Israelites arrived at the east bank of Jordan, Moses again reminded them of the purpose of God. The bringing out of Egypt was only the beginning, and the wilderness was not the goal. Only Canaan was the promised inheritance of God, who purposed to take them into that land of mild and honey so they could enjoy the riches of God. So are we to be reminded that Jesus shed the precious blood and paid a great price to redeem us with a glorious purpose of taking us into the fullness of Christ. Our salvation is only the beginning point, whereas His purpose is for us to be perfected in Christ and united with him. Therefore, we should not follow the pattern of the Israelites in the wilderness. The "wandering" is just a temporary transition, preparing His people to "enter". In the wilderness one is trained to trust and follow God. The Israelites failed their faith at Kadesh, resulting in another thirty-eight years of wandering. Today, God gives us His training through Bible study, prayer and assembling together to share His love for each another, in order to prepare us to "enter". Often we cry out, "This is too hard!" We also feel that the enemy is strong, forgetting that our God is greater than the one of the world. God has brought us out, and is ready to bring us in.
After thirty-eight years, God brought them to the eastern shore of Jordan. The enemy remained strong and their cities looked just as high, yet God's purpose of bringing them in never changed one iota. In order to confirm their faith, God, through Moses, exhorted them to "love the Lord thy God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength!" In order to equip the new generation for "entering", to overcome the foe and to inherit the land, Moses made one thing clear, "to love the Lord thy God!"
This thought is certainly new up to this point in Moses' writings. In Exodus God instructed His people to erect the tabernacle, for He desired to live among them. In Leviticus God taught them the way of sacrifices, for He desired to have fellowship with man. In Numbers He called them to follow, for He desired His people to walk with Him. The in Deuteronomy Moses reminded them to go one step further, namely, above all things to love God first!
In Deuteronomy chapter 5 Moses re-stated the ten commandments given at Mt. Horeb. Then he followed it immediately with the call of loving God in chapter 6. He seemed to be stressing that the outward obedience begins with a sincere love for God in our hearts. It is indeed important to observe the commandments, but far more important is our inner motivation of love. In order to have victory over the enemy, one needs to transition from the outward formality into the inward reality of love, which is the New Testament spirit. When the outward activities are not based on the love for our God, they may meet the need for a time, but lack the value and purpose in eternity. The elder son in Luke 15 worked hard in the field everyday, but he never discerned the heart of his father. In reality, he was just another prodigal son in a different form.
In Mark 12 it was recorded that a lawyer came to ask the Lord Jesus what commandment is the foremost of all. Jesus answered, "….you shall love the Lord they God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength….." The scribe recognized that Jesus answered well, and the Bible said that, after that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions. Loving God is all our basis and motivation. Without this love, we will be wandering in the wilderness like the Israelites, not prepared to enter into the land.
We are called to love God with all our heart. The "heart" represents the innermost part of our being. Proverb 4:23 tells us to "watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life." We are to love God from the very essence of our being. Then we are exhorted to love with all our soul. In other words, love becomes the motivation of our work, our ministry and our life. Even the manner of our every thought is controlled by the love for our Lord. Lastly, we are to love with all our strength. Love compels us to worship, to visit the sick, to serve in the church, to share the gospel…….
From Deut. 6 to Mark 12 the Lord Jesus specially pointed out that we are to love God with all our mind! We are to have the mind of Christ, to be mindful of the things above, and to have the mindset of the Spirit. Our minds are very active in our daily lives. We focus our minds on our children, our work, our business, our investment, even worrying about our future. How often does our mind focus on loving God? Indeed, there are many earthly duties that require our attention. But, the Lord Jesus reminded Martha not to be troubled by many things and complain. May our minds not be occupied by this world, but by the love of God. Our Lord wants us to learn to love God in the wilderness of this earthly life by focusing our minds on the Lord Himself. When we have a mindset of the Spirit, we have life and peace (Romans 8:6). Many times we cannot focus while reading the Bible, attending the meeting or praying by ourselves. Sometimes we are bored by a