The Jesus Bible Reading PlanНамуна

THE HEART OF THE LAW

The heart of the Law was concerned with just that: the heart. God’s rules were always for the benefit of his people, intended to draw their hearts toward himself so that they would be transformed and so they would lean on him completely (Pr 3:5). It is clear in Hosea 6:6 that God desires “mercy,” or loyal hearts that are wholly devoted to him and compassionate toward others, over lives filled with lip service and empty sacrifices. God desires people actually to know him, not just know about him while ignoring what God considers important. Living a life of obedience and love is the hallmark of a worshiping heart, which stands in stark contrast to a life of going through the motions: outwardly sacrificing and saying the right things, yet inwardly remaining far from God.

Jesus gave himself as the final sacrifice to satisfy God, to be both the mercy and the sacrifice. As Jesus emphatically asserted, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt 5:17). Worship is made possible through a relationship with Jesus, and it happens as one increasingly devotes one’s entire life to God (Ro 12:1). When believers joyfully surrender every day to Jesus, with loyal hearts and expectant obedience and with compassion toward others, they are actually living, breathing representations of proper worship toward God.

Jesus, I want to know you and your heart. I want to live a life full of obedience and love. Please help me to joyfully worship you every day of my life. Amen.