THE ABUNDANT LIFE FULLY EXPRESSED

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My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:1‭-‬4 ESV

¶To be faithful, how does one bind love and faithfulness around one's neck? The proverb refers back to a memorable command God gave recorded in Deuteronomy 6:4-9: the Shema: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one...keep my commandments, ... Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." You really cannot get much into your mind with just an inscription on your forehead, though, much less have it written on your heart. Proverbs, though, is less concerned with what is on your forehead, but what is on your heart. This proverb takes that command to a new personal level. If we look at the commandments as a sketch of life in God, Proverbs are the picture of the abundant life fully painted in.

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