Love Is First an Action

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

When most think of love, we think of an emotional experience that happens without first understanding why.  What most consider love, it truth, is infatuation.  When one watches modern entertainment influenced by non-biblical doctrine, one is led to believe love simply happens.  All one has to do it notice someone or something desirable and before one realizes it, they are in love.  The opposite is also thought to be true.  Relationships are seen in the context of falling in and out of love.  This is not the meaning of Biblical love.  The reason we write this is that of the first three words.  Take good heed.  This suggests observation and conscious choice of direction.  This is not mere emotion.  This understanding of love with the idea of taking good heed means that feelings do not have as much to do with love as commitment and action.  Taking heed to oneself is the thought here.  Love is something we choose.  Not something that happens.

Israel is embarking on their quest to claim the inheritance granted to them by God.  God is their God and they are His people.  There is a commitment on the part of the LORD to provide, protect, and guide His people.  He does this from a heart of love.  They have not earned it.  They do not deserve it.  They are at the mercy of a benevolent God.  He gives them a law by which they can order their society.  This law is also a reflection of the holiness of God.  This law testifies of God to those who would observe Israel.  All He asks in return is their commitment to be solely dedicated to Him.  He is not asking for sinless perfection.  If they fail to follow the law, He provided the means by which their sin could be forgiven.  There really was no reason for Israel to do what they did.  Like Adam, they desired human acceptance and companionship over God.  They chose the temporal over the spiritual.  Their neighbors became more important to them than a ‘distant’ God.  Their faith failed them.  They did not take good heed to themselves.

Those three words, in the beginning of our verse, speak volumes.  Loving someone when we receive something in return is not a hard thing.  However, loving someone when it costs us something is.  What comes to mind is when we are not so nice to our spouse, and someone calls us out on it.  I have to admit, when I am cranky, I am not easy to be with.  Just the other day, I publicly snapped at my wife and the glares I got spoke loudly.  This is what our Joshua is saying to God’s wife – Israel.  Watch how you treat the God you say you trust.  Make sure you go the extra mile to prove just how much you love Him.  Look at everything you do.  Measure it against what He has done for you.  Take good heed to yourselves.  Don’t take anything for granted.  Especially His love for you!