"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." —Deuteronomy 6:6-7
I have three young kids. All of them love to pour their own milk. At least once a week, one of them overfills a glass, and the floor, or the table, or the rug, or the couch, is covered in milk.
A few weeks ago, my two-year-old wanted to pour his own milk. He steadied the little plastic cup on the kitchen floor. He grabbed the gallon bottle. He focused all his energy on the task. He poured carefully. And, he kept pouring.
“Stop, Benji, stop!” I cried as I watched that week’s milk disaster. The cup was filled to the brim. There was milk all over the floor. And Benji was so proud of himself
I want you to hold that picture in your mind as we reflect on this week’s Fighter Verse.
As God’s people, our lives should reflect who He is. Last week’s Fighter Verse calls on us to live in light of who God is (“The LORD our God, the LORD is one”), responding by loving Him with all that we are.
Believers have been freed from the power of sin and death by the blood of Jesus. We have been empowered to live for Him through the work of His Spirit. Everything we do, every day, every moment, should reflect the greatness of the God we serve.
As they received this Scripture for the first time, God’s people were gathered before Moses on the threshold of entering the Promised Land. He was impressing on them the content and importance of the Law of God. And he wanted them to know where God’s commands must reside. Not only in the tabernacle. Not only with their leaders. Not only in their minds. No! The Law of God must be on their hearts.
What does that kind of heart look like? The heart of someone who treasures God’s law? It looks like that little plastic cup on my kitchen floor. It’s full. And it spills everywhere!
You see, if we love God with all we are, if we treasure His Law in our heart, it’s impossible to keep it in. A life loving God and treasuring His Law is a life marked by overflow. What does evangelism look like? Overflow. What does Christian community look like? Overflow. What does good parenting look like? Overflow.
In verse 7, Moses gives several different pictures of what that overflow of treasuring God’s commands might look like in our homes. We teach God’s commands—perhaps when disciplining our kids, perhaps when we are rejoicing in a blessing, or processing our grief. We talk about God’s commands —everywhere! Perhaps while sitting in the living room, when we walk (or drive) in our community, at bed time, at breakfast time. Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, we are to be little plastic cups full of the goodness of our great God. We overflow, everywhere!
And that’s why memorized Scripture can change your life, your family, and your church. When we store up God’s Word in our hearts we are filling that cup and it’s a fullness that naturally overflows in every area of our lives.
I don’t know what else is competing for your attention as you read this post— maybe it’s an important deadline, a strained relationship, or a kitchen floor covered with milk. Whatever it is, may we be people who—above all things— live lives characterized by loving God above all things and treasuring His commands. And that is the kind of overflow that can transform the world.
For Reflection
Where have you seen God’s Word overflow in the life of people you know? How did it impact you?
Where have you seen it in your own life? How would you like to see those in your life impacted by your love of God and treasuring of His commands?
What areas of your life do not see the “overflow” of supreme love for God and treasuring of His commands? How can you change that?