“My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.”

— Proverbs 3:1–2

Solomon admonishes us to never forget God’s law and to keep it safely in our hearts. However, so many of us, creatures of the divine Creator, brashly ignore God’s commandments. Do you know that half of the people in this country cannot name even five of the Ten Commandments?

Are you one of those people?

God wants us to know His law, but He doesn’t want us just to memorize it so we can recite it by rote. He wants us to have it in our hearts. “Let your heart keep my commands.” God wants us to love His law so much that we keep it in the treasure chest of our hearts where we store everything most dear to us. If we love God, we will treasure His Word in this way.

If, like David, we delight ourselves in the Law of the Lord, God promises us “long life and peace.” Not only is this promise a spiritual law, it’s a principle with natural consequences. If a person lives according to God’s commandments, that person will live longer because he or she takes fewer life-threatening risks. Even insurance companies know this. A person of good moral character, who does not indulge in many worldly habits and sins, gets preferred rates. Why? Because statistics show that a moral person tends to live longer. By acknowledging this, insurance companies endorse the Word of God.

Today, ask God to hide His law in your heart. Choose a few special verses, and commit them to memory. Then meditate on them throughout the day. As you keep God’s Word close to your heart, God will grant you peace and length of days.

“Live blameless; God is near.”
Carl Von Linne