Our Debt of Love

“Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.” (Jos 23:11 AV)

The ‘therefore’ refers to the previous verse.  Joshua reminded the people that it was God who fought for them.  It was the LORD who defeated all their enemies.  It was God who destroyed Egypt and decimated all the heathen who had occupied Canaan.  If God did all that for them, then it stands to reason they love Him in return.  If the Father is going to care for His children, then it is only right they love Him in return.  Note especially how Joshua ties love God with taking good heed to oneself.  Love does not come naturally.  That is, godly and pure love.  Love of self often takes precedent over love for others.  God is the One who is loved the least.  Taking heed to oneself means we do an inventory of what or who we love more.  Do we love the LORD more than anything or anyone else?  Do we love ourselves the most?  If Jesus is going to save us, the Father is going to care for us, and the Holy Spirit is going to comfort us, then the Godhead should be that which we love the most.

A child cannot comprehend all that his father does for him.  He cannot understand all the labor that goes into providing a roof over his head, clothes on his back, and food in his tummy. He cannot fathom what it means when Dad spends all that time and resources to coach him in baseball, take him hunting or fishing, or simply sit and watch a sporting event.  He does not understand all that Dad is and what he has done and therefore, his love for his father is not nearly as deep as it could be.  He is seen as a resource for his own personal happiness.  As long as he is happy, he ‘loves’ his dad.  It is not until he matures that he sees the real value in what Dad provides.  He sees the value in encouragement.  He treasures the laughs.  He understands that when the deer is drug out of the woods and processed, that was the real memory that will last a lifetime.  He will begin to see why his dad’s favorite team is different than his own and care about it.  Or, he will treasure the fact that Dad changes his favorite team to match his and realize what that truly means.  A child is not bent on self-examination.  They do not possess that skill until adolescence.  When they begin to look at all that Dad has done, hopefully, they will look into their own hearts and search for gratitude.

Generally speaking, children do not love their fathers nearly as much as they deserve.  At least not until that child grows up and realizes just how much he sacrificed for his or her wellbeing.  Love is not automatic.  Although the world teaches it as such.  They treat love as an emotion that comes on spontaneously and uncontrollably.  That isn’t pure love.  That is infatuation.  Pure love is sacrificial.  Pure love is not possessive.  Pure love seeks the honor another better than oneself.  Pure love takes discipline.  It takes compassion.   It takes selflessness.  Pure love requires we place another before ourselves.  Whoever that might be, gets the best of us.  Not what is left over.  When it comes to loving the LORD, there are several ways this is manifested.  Obedience, faith, and emotional fidelity are the greatest ways in which we can love the LORD.  But it requires we take heed to ourselves.  Loving God as we should requires a self-examination.  This exam must be to the core of who and what we are.  Examining self rips out all that comes in conflict with the LORD.  After all, He has done for us more than we can ever comprehend.  This demands we love Him in return.