Love The Lord Your God

Deuteronomy 6:4-5

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

When Jesus was asked what is the most important commandment, He quoted this very passage from the Jewish Torah which we have included in what we refer to as our Old Testament. His emphasis deserves very serious consideration.

In a time when all the rest of the world worshiped more than one god, the fact that the Jews professed One God alone was remarkably unique. We believe our One God has manifested Himself to us in three persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – but they are all One.

The emphasis Jesus made in Matthew 22:37 was primarily one of absolute love and devotion with every fiber of being. When we refer to “loving God with all our heart”, we mean from the deepest most significant part of us which is our spirit – the part of us that is in the very likeness of God Himself Who is Spirit.

“Loving Him with all our soul” refers to our mind, will and emotions. We make a definite decision to love Him in our thought life and to invest our emotional energy in worship. “Loving God with all our strength” involves our physical lives being directed towards service and obedience.

The use of the word “all” in front of heart, soul, and strength is perhaps the most significant part of this command. Are you “all” about loving God? Is He first in every area of your life?

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

Tell God you want to make Him first priority in every part of you. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

Dive Deeper: Study Deuteronomy 6; Matthew 22:37-40.