Deuteronomy 11:1 Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.

Reading this today, I think we feel something of a disconnect between Moses telling the people to love God, and then doubling down on the obedience aspect. However, Jesus’ words in the Upper Room come to mind: “If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15) In verses 23 and 24 right after that, He went further in connecting love and obedience. We focus on God’s love and grace so much that sometimes the idea of obedience seems to go out the window! However, in the verses after this, Moses focuses on the consequences of disobeying God, including the matter of Dathan and Abiram, who were swallowed up by a fissure in the ground, along with their whole households. (verse 6, Numbers 16) That story doesn’t seem to relate to love to us! However, we’ve got to realize that actions have consequences, and love isn’t just a matter of nice words. This is a struggle for everyone at some point. I think it really hits home when we become parents. Insecure parents try to make their children love them, primarily by giving them things. However, there’s a reason we call that spoiling. A person who has been raised like that generally ends up as a miserable human being. The current fad of “gentle parenting” is downright tragic! We all need discipline to be secure and happy, and a total lack of boundaries destroys that. John put it succinctly: “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3) We call John “the apostle of love,” and not without reason, but he made no bones about obedience being part of the package. However, as he said, God’s commands are not to weigh us down, but to liberate us. The better we understand that, the happier we will be.

My parents went fairly easy on the commands, but I don’t think I lacked for boundaries. There are areas in which I think they could have been stricter, but I did learn that actions have consequences, and I don’t think I ever doubted that they loved me. One of my grandsons gave me a beautiful illustration of this point, that in recent years I have used almost every time I have talked about parenting. He was a very happy child, and at 14 months, when he was not yet talking, he did something quite deliberately for which he had previously been punished. His mother noticed, but was busy in the kitchen, so she said to my wife, “Mom, could you slap his hand for me?” He suddenly looked very sheepish, and then stuck out his left hand, and then slapped it himself with his right hand! That was very “cute,” but it showed why he was such a happy child: he had firm boundaries, and was secure in the assurance that he was loved. I tell that story, but my flesh would still like to be pampered! Right now I’m in the middle of some things that I wish were not going on, but I’ve got to remember that God never allows anything He can’t use for my good, (Romans 8:28) and walk in trusting obedience. His plans are always for good, whatever they feel like in the moment.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me rejoice in Your love, even when it feels like punishment, so that I may in turn love You accurately, in full obedience, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!