“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 10:12)
Does God ask of us today what He asked of Israel? We say that we are on this side of the cross, that we are in “the new covenant” of grace with God rather than the Law. And so we are. Does that mean no Old Testament expectation of Israel or admonition applies?
Well, what did God ask of Israel? Moses sums it up for us in the verse above. There are three basics. God asks first that we fear Him. As in “be totally afraid of?” No, not so much that kind of fear. This kind of fear means to respect, to revere, to honor, and to be in awe of. We show this by walking in “the ways” of God, that is, in the way of right living, integrity, and right relationships. Is this any different in the New Testament?
The second thing God asks of us is that we love Him. He is our heavenly Father. What father wouldn’t want his children to love him, mainly because he loves them? So, is that different in the new covenant?
The third thing God asks of us is that we worship Him with all our heart and all our soul. Because He somehow needs it to sustain Himself? No, nothing like that at all. He asks that of us because we are the ones who need it. Is this any different in the New Testament?
God wants us to be in full awe of His glory, to love Him genuinely, and to worship Him because these actions bring out a greater realization and actualization of who we are in Christ. It draws us toward a greater fulfillment of God’s divine design for us – a personal walk with Him.
Lord, Today may we walk fully in Your ways, that You may be honored in and through our lives. Amen.
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