March 17, 2016
Positive Repetition
I
command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him. — Deuteronomy 30:16
Read:
Deuteronomy
30:11-20
A journalist had a quirky habit of not using
blue pens. So
when his colleague asked him if
he needed anything from the store, he asked
for
some pens. “But not blue pens,” he said. “I
don’t want blue pens. I don’t like
blue. Blue is
too heavy. So please purchase 12 ballpoint
pens for me—anything
but blue!” The next day
his colleague passed him the pens—and they
were all
blue. When asked to explain, he said,
“You kept saying ‘blue, blue.’ That’s the
word
that left the deepest impression!” The
journalist’s use of repetition had
an effect, but
not the one he desired.
Moses, the lawgiver of
Israel, also used repetition in his
requests to his people. More than 30 times
he urged his people to remain true to the law of their God. Yet the result
was
the opposite of what he asked for. He told them that
obedience would lead them
to life and prosperity, but
disobedience would lead to destruction (Deut.
30:15-18).
When we love God, we want
to walk in His ways not because we fear the consequences but because it is our
joy to please the One we love. That’s a good word to remember.
Dear Lord, as we read Your inspired story, may
Your Spirit be our teacher. Help us to walk the path of obedience as we hear
the voice of Your heart.
Love for God will cause you to live for God.
INSIGHT:
Today’s passage begins with a beautiful
statement of how intimately God wants us to know Him. He has not given us
commandments that are “too difficult” or “beyond our reach” (Deut. 30:11). This
passage ends with the reason His commands are “very near” (v. 14)—that we may
love and obey God and enjoy life in Him (v. 20).
Source: Our Daily Bread 2016
