Love and Obey
There are few things more frustrating as a parent than when your child disobeys your instructions. Feelings creep toward “maddening” territory when your child willfully disobeys.
As the parent of a strong-willed 7-year-old (who, frankly, gets it honest), I confess I don’t always handle his stubbornness and disobedience well. His stubbornness triggers my stubbornness. Too often I’ve given into my feelings and reacted out of frustration instead of the firm-yet-loving patience my heavenly Father shows me. I’m a work in progress, for sure.
When our son disobeys me, I don’t question his love for me. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt he loves me very much. But in those moments, he’s not showing his love well. He’s more concerned about doing things his own way than doing what is right. As his parent, I know discipline and responsibility are good qualities to develop, and must be practiced often. He, however, as is common for kids his age, would rather indulge in some new fun than clean up the mess he left on the living room floor from the fun he had earlier in the day.
How often do we treat God the same way? How often do we know what we need to do, what He’s asked or told us to do, but instead indulge our own selfish desires?
We love Him, but are we showing it well?
Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Practically speaking, what does loving God really look like?
Jesus told his disciples in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Just as a loving child should obey his parents, we should love our heavenly Father by obeying Him. Jesus spent His earthly ministry teaching us how to live. (I recommend reading the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7 of Matthew for many of those instructions.) Some of his disciples, including Paul, wrote down what they saw and heard so we would have written records of His truth and instructions centuries later. If we truly believe Him and love Him, we should follow His commandments, wholeheartedly and without reservation, gratefully accepting His grace for the times we miss the mark. We don’t keep His commandments in order to be saved — salvation is only possible through belief in Jesus, the Son of God, not through our deeds. We keep His commandments because of our belief in Him and our humble, grateful desire to please the One who gave everything for us.
Verses 6-9 of Deuteronomy 6 further clarify how we can show our love to God. He instructs us in verse 6 to keep His words in our hearts. In Old Testament times, this meant the Law, the words given through God’s prophets, and the stories of Israel’s history. Today, this also includes the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament writings. We are to read and study the Bible to the best of our ability. The Holy Spirit helps believers remember and understand all Jesus said.
God also instructs us to teach his commandments and statutes to our children, all through the day, every single day (Deuteronomy 6:7). One of the best ways to show your love for Jesus is to share Him with others, including your own children. Parents, use every opportunity to tell your children about the things God has done, for you are your children’s primary teachers. No matter their educational situation (public school, private school, home school, or anything else), they will learn more from YOU and your walk with Jesus than they will from anyone else.
Additionally, Deuteronomy 6:9 instructs us to write God’s word “upon the posts of [our] house, and on [our] gates.” Make it known to your children that as for you and your household, you will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15). While we may not literally write Scriptures on our door frames in modern American culture, we should post Bible verses our homes so our children and all who enter can see, read, and dwell on them. (I happen to know a good source for Scripture art prints, ready to frame and hang!) The very first Bible verse I can remember memorizing was included in a cross-stitched family tree that hung in our living room in my childhood: “Train a child up in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
Speaking of training up children, I’m so thankful for God’s patience! I do love Jesus, and want to fall more deeply in love with Him every day. Because I love Him, I study His Word and try my best to live as He instructed — which includes how we raise our strong-willed son — even though I often fall short of the mark. No matter how many times I fail, He has never failed, and so I continue to follow and obey my Savior.
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. — Deuteronomy 6:5
