Love is a Choice

Scripture: Deuteronomy 33:3
"Indeed, he loves his people; all his holy ones are in his hands. They follow in his steps and accept his teaching."

Observations:
Moses' final blessing spoken over God's people just before his death reminded them about God's covenant relationship with Israel and how they came to be known as His people. In this verse he uses an expression to describe God's special care and concern for His people. The word translated "loves" in this context carries the same basic meaning as "to choose", meaning that God's love for and His choosing of the people of Israel as the only nation on earth to enjoy this special kind of favor were the result of cause and effect. Because God loved Israel He also chose them. This is significant when you consider the fact that God's intention in all of this was for relationship with His people. When God commanded His people to "love the Lord your God" (6:4), they understood their responsiblity as God's "chosen" people to in turn "choose" God back.

Application:
Living in relationship with God not only means that we are loved by God but that we love God in return. The way in which this relationship plays out in our lives requires that we follow the same logic which understands love as a choice. Because God has chosen us, we in turn demonstrate our love for Him in the choices that we make every day to "follow in His steps and accept His teaching" (vs. 3). We haven't truly loved God until we've obeyed Him (John 14:15), and obedience by definition is a conscious choice to follow God's commands. The more we consistently choose to follow God's commands, the better we will do at obeying Him, and the more we obey God, the better we express our love for Him. Ultimately, we should view our love for God as the cumulative sum of our obedient choices motivated by God's love for us.

Prayer:
Father, thank You for loving us and choosing us for a relationship with Your Son. May the choices we make always demonstrate our love and gratitude to You in everything we do. Teach us to live by Your commands. Amen.


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