I Just Love You
Today we are going to look at the Great Commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Take a moment to read these verses in Mark and Deuteronomy, meditate, journal, and reflect.
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Mark 12:29-34
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
Deuteronomy 6:4-6
Throughout the Old and New Testament, it is abundantly clear what God expects from us…to love Him with everything we have, and nothing less. He calls us to authentically love Him. This starts with God-centered affections, desires, thoughts, and devotions. In Mark, Jesus responded to the scribe’s question by quoting the same words from Deuteronomy 6, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”.
How do we love Him like this?
He is calling us to love Him with all of our heart, which means loving Him with honesty and wholeheartedly. Even when His ways don’t make sense to us, this kind of love says “I don’t understand, but I love you with all of my heart and I will go where you call me. I will follow you, because my heart is completely surrendered to You and Your will.”
The next is with all of our soul. The soul refers to one’s whole being as a living person. This means longing to be in His presence and to be attached to Him. It’s loving Him with every fiber of our being. He is the only One who can completely satisfy our longing souls.
The next is with all of our mind, which involves studying and knowing the Word. In order to love God’s character, we must learn about it through reading His Word. We must focus our thoughts, our attention, and our minds on Him.
The last is with all of our strength. This requires perseverance and discipline. This may mean waking up an hour early to spend time in prayer and in the Word. When fatigue hits, when trials come our way, and when loving God is just hard, it is important to remember this part of the greatest commandment—remembering that He loves us relentlessly (“We love because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19).
I believe that our love for God affects everything. Think about the relationships you have with family members, spouses, or loved ones. When you genuinely love them, you don’t want to hurt them or let them down. Since you’re human, you will likely do both things, but they will sting. We don’t like to hurt the people we love. I think the same is true in our relationship with God. Except there is one huge difference, God is completely worthy of our love. He is perfection, embodies truth, is patient, sacrificial, and pursues our hearts, even when we run from Him. He showed us the greatest from of love by sending His Son to save our souls.(“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16).
As we fall more and more in love with Him, the more it will ache our hearts when we hurt Him or go against His will. Loving God means beholding Him as the God who loves sinners like you and me through undeserved grace and by means of sacrificial atonement.
Reflection Question(s): Why is it important to know the command to love God with our whole heart and to know the promise that God loves us with his whole heart? How does the gospel empower our obedience to the Great Commandment?
Today’s Worship Song: I Just Love You — UPPERROOM
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_IBDNTvAfs
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4LMGJcpVESW2RdUGyfy1Xy?si=25C1LGhNSgWRV7ZWXLSZsA
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/i-just-love-you-live/1503255202?i=1503255448
Please continue to send prayer requests my way! If you have any questions about what you read today, or just want to chat, my email is: blrich1399@gmail.com
With Love,
Brooke
