Be Careful to Love the Lord

 Love can be a fleeting thing. People fall in love, and then they fall out of love. Our love grows at times, but then, it can wane at other times. Love needs to be so important to us that we are careful to maintain our love and make sure it continues to grow, not get stagnant or die. This is especially true for our love of the Lord.

Joshua tried to get this point across to the children of Israel after they had conquered the land, and he was getting old. He warned them about going after idols and forgetting all that God had done for them. He knew the enemies of love. (Joshua 23:11) Therefore, Joshua told them to take careful heed to themselves that they love the Lord their God. This is a warning for all of us, as believers.

Just think how it is with the ones we love, our family and our friends. We can be very close to a family member, but gradually drift apart to where we don't ever talk, we just send a Christmas card once a year. The same is true with friends with whom we were very close. We can neglect to call and visit them. In practical terms, we don't love them the way we should any more, even though we have a feeling of love in our heart.

Our relationship with God can be similar to this. Maybe we used to talk with Him every day, several times a day, but now we may not pray except at meal times or special occasions. This happens when other people and things take God's place in our life. We fall out of that first kind of love for God, if we are not very careful. That is one of the worst things we can do in our life, so we all would do well to take careful heed to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, and soul. He deserves all of our love. 

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 24 and Judges 1-2.