Sunday: To Love God
After Moses recounted to the children of Israel their history, he began giving them instructions on what they were to do in order to take the land and to thrive on it. Indeed, one could argue that the bulk of Deuteronomy was simply that: the Lord telling the people what they needed to do in order to keep up their end of the covenant, which He graciously made with them in fulfilling His promise to their fathers.
Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com
Deuteronomy 6 begins like this: “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged” ( Deuteronomy 6.1-2, NKJV).
Read Deuteronomy 6.4-5. What command does the LORD God give to the children of Israel in verse 5? What does that mean?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart … ? How interesting that here, in the midst of the law, in the midst of all the warnings, rules, and provisions, the people are called to love God. And not just to love Him but to do so “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength,” which points to the absolute nature of this love.
Loving God with all the heart and soul and strength means that our love for Him should be supreme over our love for everything and everyone else, because He is the foundation and ground of all our being and existence and everything else. Love for Him should put our love for everything else in proper perspective.
In the Hebrew, the word “your” for your God, your heart, your might, is in the singular. Yes, God was speaking to the people as a whole, but the whole is only as strong as the parts. The Lord wants each one of us, though part of a larger body, to be faithful to Him individually, and the foundation of that faithfulness should be our love for Him, for who He is, and for what He has done for us.
| What does it mean to you to love God with all your heart and soul and might? |
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When I was teaching I used to have two kinds of students. There were students who were in class because they had to be there and there were others who loved the subject and you could see their love by the way they worked on it. My job, of course, was to try and help the "had to" students to love the subject. And sometimes it didn't work - that is the way it is with teaching.
Our spiritual life is always going to be works-based if we are doing it out of a sense of duty, compulsion, or in order to gain a reward.
Paul says:
Paul knew what it meant to love God with all his heart.
This lesson reminds me of Little Richard's song...part of which goes like this:
It takes everything to serve the Lord
It takes your hands and your head and your heart
Yes, it takes you all!
It takes full surrender to serve my Lord
It takes your time and your means and your prayers
Lest you fall
It takes everything to serve my Lord
I like to research meanings in the original Bible languages. Here is what I found for today's keywords.
Commandment: a directive or landmark meant to guide the way.
Judgment: speak to authority in order to restore life; an intervention in order to prevent harm.
Fear the LORD: respect, reverence, awe, trembling. Also mentioned in the page I read on fear is fear of the LORD, which means fear belonging to the LORD; the full article is very helpful, but basically fear of the LORD refers to the teachings and character of God.
Love: the Hebrew concept of love is based on actions, not feelings or thoughts.
Heart: the thoughts or mind.
Soul: the whole being - body, organs and breath; the very existence.
Putting it all together, here's what I got:
Deuteronomy 6:1,2:
Now this is the landmark; and these are the laws and the interventions on your behalf which the LORD your God has spoken to you with authority to teach you, that you may wholeheartedly do them in the land which you are crossing over to take ownership of, in order that you may live the teachings and character of the LORD your God and protect and guard all His laws and words of guidance which I give you as instructions for you and your children and grandchildren (which I also see as anyone God has placed in our path for us to teach His ways) all the days of your life, and that your life may be prolonged.
Deuteronomy 6:5:
You shall act in love for the LORD your God by protecting Him (and His reputation) with all your thoughts and mind, with your entire being - spiritual, emotional, and your body (which is His temple, 1 Corinthians 3:17), and with all your strength (which is given to you by Christ, Philippians 4:13).
If we follow these instructions and prioritize God first, everything else in life will fall into its proper place.
Dear Karen - I am very intrigued by your comments. They offer a new direction, new insights to consider when reflecting on familiar Scripture passages. Would you please let me know the resources you use when doing your research into the original Bible languages?
I find the interpretation of the words you highlighted very insightful; they strike a resonance with my own understanding. Would you also please clarify: "Putting it all together, here's what I got"? Did 'you' compose the text of the Bible references, or is this text from one of your references?
My own reflections: I always thought that our Creator had a multilayered purpose when interacting with man, using His 'Creative Law based on Love' to accomplish these purposes.
I can see two purposes: one is 'other-focused/altruistic', the other is 'self-serving':
'Other-focused/altruistic' - He uses His 'Law based on Love' to focus exclusively on elevating the creature - 'man' - to the highest potential of his physical existence to so prepare him and make him eligible to enter the spiritual, eternal life.
'Self-serving' - in that our Creator desires to complete/compliment/enrich His Creation with 'creatures' that respond to His 'Law based on Love'; creatures, with, by His Love inspired/elevated human nature, ultimately become one with Him reflecting His Spirit and Truth.
Angels, other hosts, or powers populating Heaven do not have this uniquely human kind of love and devotion. God's Love has rescued man from certain destruction; in return we express our deep devotion, appreciation, being deeply grateful. This is our expression of 'loving Him', demonstrated when we love our fellow man; but these are only 'speculations' from a heart which loves its Maker.
Dear Brigitte, thank you for your response and additional insight. I found a website called Ancient Hebrew Research Center which I used for as my reference. They have a lot of information there, I wish I'd known about it years ago.
When I wrote "here's what I got", I meant that part as a rewriting into my own words of the original Bible text. I've always done that, ever since I was a child, in order to clarify passages to myself (and possibly help others understand better as well).
Thank you for sharing your own reflections as well, I appreciate your insights (and those of all contributors) on this forum. It's such a blessing to be able to learn from each other even when we may never meet face to face on this earth. I aim to be there on that glorious day when Jesus comes for His people and we will finally meet.
Karen - thank you for your kind reply! I made a note of the website's name and am eager to find out more about the original 'roots' of the many Scripture translations.
Being able to put Scripture's Truth into one's 'own' words is a blessing. I think, unless we are able to use our own words to formulate spiritual, Scriptural Truth, we have not yet fully comprehended the passage's spiritual meaning.
I hope you will continue to share with us your insights into scriptural Truth using your own words; it blessed me greatly!
I agree, Brigitte, using our own words to reformulate Scripture is very helpful for comprehension. And my comprehension may be different from someone else's, depending on our life experiences. I may not share daily in the comments, but I will share my understanding as I feel led to do so. Blessings!
The lesson asks what it means to love God with all my heart, soul and might. Consider what it means to you and then compare your thoughts with what I have outlined below as my thoughts.
It is often necessary to get behind the words themselves and consider what is the functional reality those words are talking about (ie, how does it actually work/operate). Unless we do this, essentially we are merely speaking Christian jargon - or 'Christianese' as it is also referred to. And if you step back and consider this, you will see that Christian tradition and practice has a lot of this going on. So let's take a tour behind the words themselves and see what we find.
In bible times - and even today - "heart" is a term used to symbolically refer to the 'region'* within you where your deepest desires originate from. Thus, by association and extension, "heart" also symbolically refers to your deepest and therefore most 'consuming'/dominant desires.
What about the term "love"? There are essentially two actions we undertake as humans - approach or avoidance. We are motivated to approach the things we 'love'/desire and avoid things we 'hate'. Consequently, when you "love" something, the thing that you love receives a a lot of your focus, effort and attention (and often money which is why advertising strives to foster 'love' for material possessions). Romans 6:16 reflects this principle and how it can work for better or worse.
Putting these realities together, to love God will all your heart, soul and strength means to have God as your deepest desire - and because of this, you will then dominantly devote your focus, energies and efforts towards that desire (as per seek first and foremost the Kingdom of God and His corresponding ways of righteousness/rightness: Matthew 6:33).
Now, technically, you could do this because of either of two underpinning motivations: (a) you are drawn to doing so purely because you see the 'benefit' in doing so, or (b) you are pushed to doing so because you are frightened of not doing so. [We will look a little deeper into this aspect tomorrow.]
What do you think?
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* When considering the notion of 'present truth', it is interesting (and important) to consider how the connotations of language changes over time. The KJV has used the term "bowels" to refer to this deep region/place from within us where deepest desires/motivations arise from (see Genesis 43:30 in KJV). I have to admit that "I love you from the depths of my heart" sounds better than "I love you from the depths of my bowels"!
Hi Brother Phil, I think your points are great, and I’m going to use them in my sabbath school teaching this Sabbath. Is that ok?
We as humans are always searching for love, or for that feeling of love. Some crazy pop singers once said, “you got that loving feeling “, and has confused the matter of love altogether. Is “love” a feeling?
I like your points on the “heart” and “love”. The way our world portrays “love” is very confusing. Love is portrayed as a self-centered thing, something that we are entitled to, to be love by others, instead of showing love to others. Showing love to others is why I say again, that in Jesus’ parable about the sheep and the goats, what is going to matter in the end is that the Master is going to ask both the sheep and the goats, “what did you do for the ‘least of these’”. What about the orphans and widows, does anyone care about them? Does anyone love them? Instead of criticizing and/or pitying them, why not go visit them and find out what their needs are. By the way, I don’t have children, but I know of several Single Mothers that could use a helping hand, especially help with their sons. Can you find a little time to be a mentor today?
I know I’m getting off the topic here, but when we love God with all our heart, soul, and strength, we will begin to show forth the fruits of the Spirit. We will be led by the Holy Spirit to do good things for others, instead of always wanting someone to show that they love us. That’s why John wrote:
1 John 4:20 “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
We should think about that, and take to do better to “love” others, and then the world will see that we “ love our God”.
God’s blessings to you all!
Phil, when you wrote "There are essentially two actions we undertake as humans - approach or avoidance.", it reminds me of when Jesus said in Matthew 12:10, " He who is not with me is against Me". I definitely want to be for Jesus, but it's a constant battle to stay within His will. I need the guidance of the Holy Spirit all day to keep me moving towards Jesus and not away.
"I need the guidance of the Holy Spirit all day to keep me moving towards Jesus and not away."
Absolutely - we all do.
Keep adding your thoughts on this forum - they help enrich the conversations.
Phil asked this question of todays lesson yesterday.
What does it mean to you to love God with all your heart and soul and might?
Jesus not only echoed the words written by Moses, but he added in the part about loving others. Then to top it off, he declared that everything, all the law and the prophets, hung or relied upon these two commands. Loving God and each other is our highest calling.
Mark 12:28-30. Matthew 22:36-40.
John spells it out for us too. 1John 4:16-21.
I understand Paul(truly The Holy Spirit who inspired) to define 'love' in the book of
Romans 13:8-10 KJV
Love and God (To Love God):
1). What is love?
2). If God chose His people because He loved them, not because they loved Him (Deuteronomy 7:8), then what is love?
3). If love begins with God and has no cause in the object of love, why did God love?
4). In response, from a human point of view, how can we love a God whom we cannot see?
John said:
1 John 4:20
If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?.
To love God with all my heart and soul and might means not to love anything else MORE. Is it possible to live without any love? No. Human beings were made to love. But loving God must come first! Then everything else will be added.
God is a jealous lover and longs to keep growing in intimacy with His people. It is important to realize that God would not act vindictively to end His relationship with the people, but rather act in the passion and anguish of unrequited love
Could one reasonably consider that 'loving God with all one's heart and being' is the beginning as well as the outcome of the transformation of human nature - an inspiration responded to by faith leading to true Life?
What initiates, facilitates, and maintains this transformation within us which brings us from 'death' to 'life'?
- is it not God's Love inspired hope within us which responds, desiring the living soul to be truly 'alive'?
- becoming alive, enabled to so follow, trusting His spirit's promptings through the process and allow the Spirit of Truth to complete the work assigned to Him: - giving birth to true Life within us?
Therefore - 'What does it mean to love God with all your heart and soul and might'? Does it not mean Life?
We must understand Deut 6:5 in the light of all God has spoken in regard to this verse, which is not a demand, but an invitation and encouragement. God knows that “love”(however we wish to interpret this word) cannot be forced or sullenly submitted by creatures who have the power of choice which God has given them. God is simply telling us what is best, and will bring every blessing if we follow in perfect agreement. This thought is repeated many times in the Psalms and Proverbs, as well as all the prophets. In verse 5 God is actually revealing the condition for receiving every promised blessing.
Jesus demonstrated what it means to love/prefer God with all your heart and soul and might when He prayed: “nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done” as He faced the greatest trial of His life, in which the will of God was the LAST thing He wanted for Himself, praying for a possible release. There is also a hymn that says: “Have Thine own way Lord”. When the selfish pride of the heart is displaced by a meek and lowly spirit, God and His purposes will be placed above every other consideration, and that soul will "acknowledge Him in all [their] ways".
"God is simply telling us what is best, and will bring every blessing if we follow in perfect agreement."
What if what you have outlined is the reality in all instances where the the English word "command/commanded/commandment/etc" is used in reference to God's 'commanding'?
One thing I wonder, when you use the word "perfect", what do you mean by that word? When the Bible uses this word, it refers to undertaking the developmental journey of ever progressing maturing towards ever increasing completeness (as per James 1:2-4). It is a process of character re-development because character has to be developed - it can't be instantly created (Romans 5:3,4). This even/also applied to Jesus (Hebrews 5:8,9). Thus, while there is a destination, the Bible focusses on the journey towards that destination because that is how you actually get to the destination. From a biblical perspective, perfect is a developmental process rather than a standard.
I believe "perfect" agreement is best defined in opposition to "imperfect" agreement, and given the idea of Prov 4:18, I believe this "perfect agreement" will be an unfolding transformation as we continue seeking the knowledge of God's "good, acceptable, and perfect will"(Prov 2:1-5, Rom 12:2).
I also believe this is the reality, because if not, we would find this world(and all creation) a far different place, Lucifer's rebellion very brief, the forbidden tree in Eden would have never existed, and the "perfect peace" of Isa 26:3 probably non-existent as well.
3 things stand out for me:
(1) Who is this message of Deuteronomy 6:4-5 addressed to? Hear O Israel It’s addressed to those in covenant with Him , to believers. Only believers have any hope of loving God with 100% of who they are. It’s a work of the Holy Spirit. Unbelievers receive a different message. To repent and believe. To be born again. After that, you love.
(2) The LORD your God is one. Our culture has embraced a spirituality of “all is one”. A mono-istic spirituality . It sounds inclusive and loving. Yahweh has given us monotheistic spirituality , however. The difference between monotheism and monoism is “theos”. We must not get swept up in removing Yahweh from our faith.
(3) Moses listed “heart, soul, strength”. Jesus added “mind” (Luke 10:27). Might this tweak be for us mind-oriented western cultures of future times?