Shema “hear” in Hebrew
Deut 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead, and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
My roommate and I have recently decided to make a Mezuzah and place it on the doorpost of our room to serve us as a constant reminder of God’s place in our lives. It’s amazing to me how quickly I can forget about being intentional and place Him first.
Over the summer, God’s law has been brought to my attention over and over. I have been reminded of its power and importance. I have always embraced and understood GRACE, but LAW has taken back seat importance. I mean I do my “best” to keep the commandments and to treat all with love and respect, but I never fully grasped the beauty of the Law. (note: when I say the Law, I mean it in it’s most basic form: the 10 Commandments and the Shema, I’m not scholarly enough to mean anything else J).
Reading through Nehemiah and the account of when the book of the Law is found by Ezra (chapters 8-9) has impacted me. They found the book and it changed their lives. they read and fell to their knees in worship and confession of sins. C.S. Lewis explains more about their reaction: “Their delight in the law is a delight in having touched firmness; like the pedestrian’s delight in feeling the hard road beneath his feet after a false shortcut has long entangled him in muddy fields… the Law is undefiled… the Law gives light, it is clean and everlasting, it is sweet. no one can improve on this.” The Law=luminous, severe, disinfectant… the Law’s beauty, sweetness, or preciousness arose in contrast of surrounding Paganisms.”
I forget that though GRACE is the beautiful concept I will primarily live my life by, the Law helps me make sure I keep a straight walk in the things that I don’t understand or don’t automatically do. It helps me better understand the ultimate commandments: “You will love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind… and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 22:37-40)
Oh, and starting September 27th, my first day back at school, I will begin a 30-day devotional journey, following a reading plan that focuses on the life of Jesus as well as going through the Psalms and Proverbs. I am planning to update it each morning by putting up what is the daily reading and one or two things that stood out in it to me. Join me.
Until then I’m going to simply focus on getting ready for school to start and finish some of the devotional paths I’ve taken over the summer. Till that Monday there will be no concise plan to follow in this blog so if you’re waiting for structure I’d recommend to wait until two Mondays from now. J
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