Listen

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength. These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up. Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol. Write them on your house’s doorframes and on your city’s gates.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Think

There are some specific, tactile methods we can picture for helping us keep God’s word on our minds. For orthodox believers past and present, wrapping portions of scripture onto their arms and foreheads or marking them on their doors have been ways to reinforce their faith. While it may not rise to the same level, I wonder if we sometimes try to do the same today, with snippets of God’s word strategically placed on coffee mugs, t-shirts, or water bottles.

As much as I love all these suggestions, I find myself drawn even more to the idea of simply sharing God’s love for us – and our love for God – like this passage suggests. What if we took seriously the suggestion to “always have God’s love on our minds,” of passing it along from person to person, from generation to generation? Imagine starting and ending your day thinking about God’s love or finding moments to discuss God’s faithfulness in your circle of friends, both at home and out and about.

Peter Hanson

Question to Ponder:

What are some of the ways you like to be reminded of God’s presence in your everyday life?

Pray

O Lord God, help me to keep your word on my mind, in my words, and in my actions. May all my comings and goings be accompanied by a reminder of your love.

Amen.

Go

As God’s beloved, you are invited to share in God’s dream for the future, full of happiness and hope, justice and joy. God’s dream is already coming true!