But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question
to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And
he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and
first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor
as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the
Prophets.” -Matthew 22:34-40
Recently, I have been reflecting a lot on the idea of loving God completely. Matthew 22:37 says that the great commandment is that we are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind. In other words, we are to love God with our whole person. Yet, from what I have observed, most of us fail to do so. Some people, like me tend toward the intellectual side. I am edified by studying theology. I enjoy wrestling through complex biblical issues. Apologetics, or the intellectual defense of the faith, is one of my favorite things to study. Others seem driven by emotion. The are deeply moved by worship songs, and the psalms. God helps them to feel deeply. They become overwhelmed by how much God loves them. Still others are primarily driven by loving and serving others.Yet, according to this verse, we are to love God with all of our being. Thabiti Anyabwile said it this way, "The fullest expression of Christian living has to be a combination of
God’s truth entering the head, igniting the heart, and outworking
through the hands."
Daily Reading: Matthew 22, Numbers 25, 1 Corinthians 9, Revelation 6,
Song of Solomon 8, Psalm 147, Proverbs 28, 1 Chronicles 29, Daniel 7, Acts 7
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