99. Words in your Heart
Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.
This remarkable promise doesn’t sound like a promise at first, but God does promise that God’s words, His Commandments, will be in our hearts. This was meant to be true right away, for when God gave the Ten Commandments, and especially when He gave the Great Commandment (Thou shalt love the Lord thy God), He expected the people to memorize it and take it to heart immediately, repeat it often, teach it to the children, talk about it all the time, bind it on your hand and forehead and on your door. We are not commanded to put these words in our hearts; we are promised that these words will be in our hearts.
The Pharisees took these words seriously, and literally, for they made phylacteries with the words of Deuteronomy 6:5 written on papyrus to wear as frontlets and wristbands. They took the words “shall be” as a strict command, thinking that as Law it was something they should do, but more importantly it is something God does, for it is a Gospel promise: “these words will be in your heart.”
The complete fulfillment of this promise didn’t really come about until after Jesus ascended to heaven and then poured out the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised that He would send the Holy Spirit into the hearts of believers, and the Spirit would bring His Words to remembrance and we would actually keep them. The Holy Spirit is the “words in the heart,” which will be rivers of living water flowing out of the belly of believers. The Spirit in us will be the “phylactery” reminding us to believe and do the Great Commandment.
We need reminders of this truth that the Holy Spirit is living in the heart, for we can go a long time through daily living forgetting that God, really God, the living and eternal God, Creator Almighty, All-loving King, is living in my heart. If we stop long enough to think about it we would be blown away. The very love of God, and more, the God who loves, is dwelling so intimately with me so as to be in the center of my body and soul. When the Spirit reminds me, my natural response is to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. The promise reaches its purpose every day.