Count The Ways

Obedience from Love: Read Deuteronomy 10: 12-13 and 11:13-21

“And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”

Reflection: Count the Ways

1. When was the last time you told God You love him?
2.    When was the last time you served another out of love for God?
3. Can you think of a benefit you've enjoyed because you obeyed a specific command of God?

This is really a tough one. When I read it, I paused because I know that obedience is my number one battle. Call me hard headed, stubborn, obstinate, persistent or whatever.  I do like to do things my way, but as you may know, that hasn’t worked well for me in the past.  It took me a few days to write this particular blog because it required more reflection and prayer. First of all, I try to tell the people that I love, including God, daily that they are the most important priorities in my life. That is the easy part. As far as my serving others, this is more of a challenge. I do work with the children at my church and this is surely fulfilling, but what I recall is the time that I worked with a ministry at my church called the “Sandwich Makers”. These ladies go out every weekend and feed the homeless in our community breakfast. They do not have a media truck following them; they provide the food; they don’t have an entourage of helpers. Just a handful of dedicated ladies, who give tirelessly of themselves. I took my family out one Sunday to help them feed a group at the shelter. This was one of the most touching days of service that I have experienced because it puts everything in perspective. The things that we take for granted, daily; a hot meal, is so appreciated by a group of adult men who are down on their luck. The benefits of this single act of obedience had a great impact on me and my family. My children had never seen a homeless person up close and had never correlated homelessness with hunger. I was able to empathize with the people there. I ran into someone whom I had known as a child. He grew up in a dysfunctional, fatherless family that was always one paycheck away from homelessness, and there he was, homeless himself. I was able to offer him a meal and words of encouragement that what he was going through at that time did not have to be a lifelong circumstance. I prayed for him and continue to do so and reminded him that even when his family had nothing, they still went to church and gave thanks to God for what he had brought them through. I believe that my act of obedience of accompanying the “Sandwich Makers” on that day, was God’s way of leading me to encourage someone who may have lost his hope and his faith.