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Love

             So be very careful to love the Lord your God. (Joshua 23:11)

          Oh boy. This is the sort of warning that opens a can of worms. Be careful to love the Lord? Our society, or perhaps human nature, teaches us that to love someone is to feel lovingly toward them or to desire to enjoy their company.  And we walk out of a church service declaring it a wonderful worship service because our spirits were uplifted, and our hearts moved (or, in my case, because my mind was engaged.) Let’s even go with the possibility that our faith was deepened. I’m not suggesting that any of those are bad things. But have we loved God?   

          I’ve been listening to Christian music and Christmas music, but as I listen, I’m doing other things. My reason for listening is because it keeps my mind focused on better things so that I don’t spiral into my usual negativity. And that’s not a bad reason to listen, but am I loving God?

          Different people love God in different ways. It’s not for me to tell you how you should love Him, or even whether you do. The question of today’s passage is whether we are careful to love Him. The question is whether we are careful in how we love Him. Or, are we using Him as the means to feel good? Is He really part of the equation?

          In the past month, I’ve read two books that are challenges. One is about expressing gratitude for what people do for us – writing a “thank you” note every day for a year. The other is about noting the gifts that God gives us and listing 1000 ways that God expresses His love to us. Both are great ideas, but how soon would we be focused on the things or the goal of 365 or 1000 and not on the love or gratitude? Both would be great spiritual disciplines, well worth our exploration, but not if they become our gods – “Thou shalt write a thank you note today!”

          Even good habits can become routine. My question for the day is this: What could you do to shake up, or cause you to sit up and pay attention to your love for God?   

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