TODAY IS…

a wonderful day to love the Lord.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  Deuteronomy 6:5 NASB

“But I love Him every day!”

And while this may not be a completely false statement, can each of us say that we do it exactly as God wants us to?

If we closely examine each and every moment of yesterday, did we show our love for God in everything that we said and did?

Did we speak harshly to someone when we could just as easily have held our tongue?

Did we harbor thoughts about people that were inappropriate or against God’s teachings?

Did we spread gossip about others around us?

Did we engage in inappropriate activities?

We all know that how we live our lives and how we interact with those around us are all clear indicators of how we feel about the Lord. Does God expect us to be perfect each and every moment of each and every day? Of course not. If we were capable of being perfect, we would be… well, we would be God, and we know not one of us comes close.

So, if we can never be perfect; if we will always fail in ways both large and small; if thoughts and actions will always escape us that are in direct conflict with what we know God expects of us, how then can we possibly do what Moses instructed the Israelites to do so very long ago?

The answer is not as complicated or difficult to arrive at as we may think.

Many of us have had experience with very small children. Teaching them something is not a one-time proposition. They require constant attention, constant reminding, and constant correcting. We must all look at ourselves as small children when it comes to our relationship with God. We must constantly be reminded and corrected by Him and the way He does this is through His Word.

By taking time each day to read the Bible, meditate on its meaning, and think about where we might have fallen short yesterday in showing our love for God through the way we dealt with those around us and the way we conducted ourselves, we are, in fact, demonstrating that we do understand the words of Moses.

When our children look up at us and say they are sorry for something they have done, we know they are expressing their love for us.

And God knows as well when we look up to Him and do the same thing. He does not expect us to express our love for Him by being perfect. He expects us to express our love by being aware of our imperfections and always asking for His help in improving.

*******

Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson