Fear Follow Serve Obey

Moses said to the people: ‘Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you? Only this: to fear the Lord your God, to follow all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and laws of the Lord that for your good I lay down for you today.

Dt.10:12,13

Moses is summarising what God is asking from his people. He's not asking for much, just everything.

Moses' lead-in to answering his rhetorical question is deceiving. Only this, not much, just a trifling... It reminds me of C.S Lewis's title to his life changing book, Mere Christianity. It's such an understatement as to become an oxymoron. 

So, what is God asking of me? Only to fear, follow, serve and obey. That covers just about everything I could do with my life. There's no space for anything else, which is as it should be. God is an all-or-nothing type of God. Lukewarm gets spat from his mouth. 

There's also a little understated promise at the end of the verse. For your good. God's asking for all of me not for himself. It's for my own good. Today it's all-or-nothing for God from me. Let's make it all, for my own good if for no other reason.

Jesus, you gave your all for me. Now, I give my all for you.

Saint Philip Neri, please pray for us.