“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” (Deuteronomy 6:6)
Contemplating early morning, coffee in hand, pondering the steam that rises between cup and mouth and nostrils and mind. Breathing in the aroma that awakens as surely as God breathes breath and life and His word into me. Write your words on my heart, God, your handwritten script, curlicued and looping across the chambers of my heart to every corner: bright red like words from Christ in a red letter bible, permanent like toddler doodles on walls with magic markers.
“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:9)
Wheels turning, heart knowing, Spirit whispering.. the hands scribble words and references as the pastor repeats these words of long ago, calling us to ask ourselves, to challenge, to push. “FAITH” in plaques and words on walls cannot bandaid the gaping wound that oozes truth. All creation calls out glory but inside a different cry; the truth cannot be quelled. My heart, my head acknowledge in unison with Spirit; Home fails to point to God with the same glory the simple rocks and trees find so easy. Home which should be Haven, should be Reflection of HIM, should be… more, better, peaceful, testimony, witness. Conviction stirs to action.
“You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,…” (Deuteronomy 6:7)
Family circled, children with ears closed who begin to soften as Word is read, who recite together verses of recent past that have been memorized. As if each verse, layered upon sweet layer of truth has been drawn to our lives like magnets to metal. As though there were reasons unseen for these verses to come together and collide at this point, at the timing of God’s hand.
“Serve God by the way you live.”
A toddler lesson from Sunday School etches into family life, bearing lessons and meanings far outliving the morning hour, impressing it’s truth on the weekday. A gaze around, a glance from front door to back confirms the stark contrast of “should” and “do.” The mess and clutter invites the inevitable question and it’s clear the answer to the question is ‘No.’ The ‘No’ echoes through each of us.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as to the Lord and not for man.” (Colossians 3:23)
Beauty of truth is that in its complexities there are simplicities, simplicities even obvious to children. As plain as the noses on our faces and the freckles on our noses – we see the truths before us. We know we cannot say we give our best, “heartily” is not an adverb we can claim. We pick it up and dust it off and put it back in its rightful place. Family which commits to changes that must be made, not for man, not for self, not for any other. To do what is right because it is right fuels the fire, urges on. Conviction pushes, indifference and unwillingness fall paralyzed behind as action moves forward, onward to completion. God calls us to action. We feel. We hear. We obey.
“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” (Deuteronomy 6:8)
As children are often inclined, words are soaked in like sponges full of eagerness. Scriptures are taken literally and instructions lead to actions. Surprise, unexpected lessons from children eager, as if ripped from Inkheart’s pages children emerge with truth upon their skin.
A mother’s smile at the simplicity of the reminder, and the prayer: “Yes, LORD, write your words on my heart, and my face and my hands, as I live and love and work… for You. Amen.”
Inkwell Photo Credit: Kathleen Conklin
