This passage reminds us that despite God’s vast power, He chose Israel in His Love, and us, through Jesus Christ. Verses 14-15: “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today,” emphasizes that God did not chose Israel because of who they are or what they do, but because of God’s love for them and their fathers. That is the same with us, believers, we are not saved because of the works we do, but because of God’s abundant love, through Jesus Christ.

In return, we should remove stubbornness and pride, and submit fully to God. Verse 16 said: “Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.” This means that accepting God’s love should lead us to change our ways of life. True acceptance of God’s love should lead to obedience, humility, and change.

As I read this passage, it made me reflect on how I am living as a believer. It made me ask the following questions to myself:

• Is my walk in life evident of God’s love and grace?
• Are my actions honoring to God?
• Have I fully submitted to God?
• What are the changes in my actions, my way of thinking, and how I speak since I became a believer? And how does this affect the people around me?

How about you, dear readers, do you have time to answer these questions? I’d like to invite you to take a moment and reflect on your own walk with the Lord. As believers, we are called not just to know about God’s love but to be transformed by it. Let us consider how our thoughts, our speech, and our actions have changed since coming to know Jesus, and how these changes impacts the people around us.

I pray that we may all walk each day knowing that we are chosen, cherished, and called to be changed.

Prayer

Lord God, thank You for loving me not because of my works, but because of Your grace revealed through Jesus Christ. Help me to respond to Your love with a heart that is humble, obedient, and fully surrendered. Circumcise my heart and remove every pride and stubbornness within me. May my life reflect true transformation—seen in my thoughts, words, and actions—so that others may also see Your love through me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.