Recently my husband got a ticket for failing to wear a seatbelt. His punishment involved safety belt class. The class featured a series of videos graphically illustrating the disastrous result of not wearing a safety belt.
Most of us can remember when seatbelts were optional. Even though it was a proven fact that seatbelts saved lives, the vast majority of people chose not to wear them. Today clicking the seatbelt on is second nature. The transformation occurred because laws were enacted that doled out punishment if the seatbelt wasn’t in place. It seems strange that we didn’t do it because we could see it would save lives. Now, when our car starts moving, my daughter freaks out if she doesn’t have her seatbelt fastened. It’s ingrained in her.
Disastrous Results
God wants us to choose to love him. He set the blessings of loving and obeying him before the Israelites along with curses for disobedience. Like the seatbelt class my husband had to endure, God vividly illustrates the disastrous results of not choosing to obey. Yet the blessings of obeying are abundant.
The Right Choice
Why choose to follow God? It leads to life. It leads to blessing. Choosing to wear a seatbelt means choosing the safest way to travel in a car. God told the Israelites he would “circumcise” their hearts to love him. Similar to the way the safety belt rule has been ingrained in my daughter, God wants our hearts ingrained with love for him so that it becomes second nature to us.
It’s still a choice to wear a seatbelt. The consequences of not wearing one can end in death. Loving God is a choice. Choosing God means choosing life. What’s engrained in your heart? Practice loving God. Teach your children to love God. Let loving and obeying God become second nature to you so that in all things “you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” |L
Dianne McIntosh lives in Sweet Home, Oregon with her husband John and her daughter Annalee. Dianne works with the Oregon Christian Convention doing publicity and program development.
