APRIL 27, 2015
Love And Light
The
land which you cross over to possess is a land . . . for which the Lord your
God cares. —Deuteronomy. 11:11-12
Read:
Deuteronomy
11:8-15
Friends are starting
to plan their summer vegetable gardens. Some get an early start by planting
seeds indoors where they can control the conditions and provide the best
environment for sprouting. After the danger of frost has passed, they will
transplant the seedlings outdoors. Once the garden is planted, the work of
weeding, feeding, watering, and guarding against rodents and insects begins.
Producing food is a lot of work.
Moses reminded the Israelites of this before they entered the
promised land. While living in Egypt, they had to do the hard work of
irrigating crops by hand (Deut. 11:10), but in the place where God was taking
them He promised to ease their work by sending spring and autumn rains: “I will
send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains” (v.14 niv). The only condition was that they
“faithfully obey the commands” He gave them—“to love the Lord your God and to serve him with
all your heart and with all your soul” (v.13 niv). The Lord was taking His people to a place where their
obedience and His blessing would make them a light to those around them.
God wants the same for us and from us: He wants our love to be
displayed in our obedience so that we might be His light to people around us.
The love and obedience we have to offer, though, is far less than He deserves.
But He is our provider, blessing us and enabling us to be a light that the
world will notice.
Loving God doesn’t make life effortless, but
having His strength makes it easier.
INSIGHT: The word deuteronomy means “second law.” This word describes the
content of the book and its purpose. After the law was first given to Moses on
Mount Sinai, the Israelites rebelled and wandered in the wilderness for 40
years. Now, 40 years later, they were about to enter the land of promise, and
the laws given at Sinai were repeated in order to prepare them to be a people
of God in their new home.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012
