DVP071 Deuteronomy 6:5 (March 12)

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

This is a summary of the law of Moses. It is easy to forget, amidst the many specific rules, regulations, and traditions, that the law has a purpose with God's glory at the centre of that purpose. If you ask a person why the laws exist, they are unlikely to say that it's because God deserves to be loved, but that is the unavoidable heart of it.

How we understand 'love' is important in how we react to this. For some people, love is merely a feeling. It seems strange to command people to love God when their feelings might not take them there naturally. However, love is also a commitment. You can't love God without committing to keep on loving him, even when your feelings are not there.

Much the same as in a marriage, there is a strong feeling which attracts people together. But when they speak their vows, they are making an agreement to commit to each other no matter what. God expects us to show love for him in the same way, by vowing to do what we know is pleasing to him even when times are hard or we don't 'feel' the love. This leads to a growing love which is deliberately cultivated through commitment.

The richness of the Christian experience cannot be experienced by anyone without this magnificent commitment of the self to God, no matter what. God does make it easy for us by showing himself worthy of the highest trust.


The English Standard Version (ESV)

“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
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