“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God…” Deuteronomy 10.12

The word, “serve”, is a framework verb. Its purpose is to remind us what is to be the proper orientation of all our “doing” and “walking.” We do not learn the Law of God and use it to plan our day and carry out our plans merely as an end in itself, or for our own advantage. Our purpose in all we do, throughout every step of our walk, is to serve the Lord.

Serving the Lord presupposes that we know Him, fear and love Him, and desire to do His will above our own or any other, because we realize that all His ways are true and right and just. As we serve the Lord we further His purpose, which is to glorify Himself so that others might know Him as well. There is no greater joy and no higher privilege than to know the Lord (Ps. 16.11; Jn. 17.3), and it pleases God that others should come to know Him by the way we His people live our lives (1 Pet. 3.15).

All our daily actions, everything we “do” as we pursue our “walk” each day has the potential to honor the Lord and advance His purpose. The Law of God defines the practical ways He intends for us to glorify Him in our words and deeds. Paul explained that our lives could be a “living sacrifice” to the Lord (Rom. 12.1, 2). This will surely be the case as we keep focused on Him and determined to carry out His purposes and pleasure in all we do (Phil. 2.12, 13).

Each of us has a “walk” unique to his calling from the Lord. That walk involves us in “doing” many different things. With God as the North Star in all our doing and walking, we can glorify Him and advance His purposes every day of our lives.

T. M. Moore

For more insight to the nature of God’s Covenant, order a copy of T. M.’s book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store. Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition.