“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.” Mark 12:30
August 7, 2024
Israel’s religious establishment, those who pledged allegiance to the law of God, the scribes they were called, wanted Jesus to cite the greatest commandment, “the greatest of all time” (G.O.A.T.), if you will. Jesus did not disappoint. In the first place, putting us all on the spot, God is to be loved with our whole being for our whole life. This was part of the “Shema” which was recited twice daily (Deut. 6:4). Four prepositional phrases tell us what it means to love. God is to be loved with thorough-going mental effort. The words “heart” and “mind” speak volumes. True love starts with thinking right about God and the truth He has revealed. This is not to say that love is just a cerebral exercise. God alone deserves our unrivaled love because He alone is God and has demonstrated the perfection of His love to us (“the LORD our God is one LORD” Mk. 12:29). Has this been resolved in our own thinking? The supremacy and uniqueness of God calls for our undivided attention. If God is one, He commands the allegiance and devotion of our whole being. Is this becoming an endangered species in our world?
H
“O Lord God, supreme over all things, teach me how to think in the right way about you and make the right choices. I want to know what you expect and be able to do it.”