The Great Shema
Jesus was asked what was the great commandment and He replied by quoting the text for today from Deuteronomy 6 to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Do you? How could you grow in your devotion to Jesus Christ?
“Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates...be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Fear the Lord your God, serve him only...Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God...Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you”
Deuteronomy 6:3-9, 12-16, 18, 24
Simon Sinek once wrote a book called "Know your Why." It is a fascinating book that invites reader to re-examine why they do what they do and put their why first so that the direction of their lives leads them to the life they desire. Jesus pointed to this text above other texts as one that should define how you live and help you discover your why. What is said in this passage that is so important?
God declares His why. Why does He say everything in this passage. God graciously gives instructions so that you can inherit the blessings He promises, that you would be intimately close to your Creator, and that it may go well with you. God is not trying to get something from you. He is trying to do something for you. He is inviting you to walk the blessed path that leads to more blessings.
How is life going for you? Is it going well? Do you feel close to God? Do you have peace in your heart? Do you feel like you are dwelling in the promised land of milk and honey? Jesus quote a passage that much like the sermon on the mount can feel impossible. The trickiest word in the passage is all. Love with all. Trust God with all. How is your all? As Pastor Mark Batterson asks in his book "All In", are you all in with the all in all? There is an exclusivity, a completeness, a covenantal commitment that comes with the word all. Much like in marriage when you say I do you are committing all of yourself to fully and only your spouse.
Look at the advice that is given for how to remain close to God. Jesus says abide with me. Stay connected line a vine and a branch to me all day. God says in Deuteronomy that we are to tell kids, tell others, share the good news, write down, remind ourselves, mark up our walls, and do whatever it takes to constantly remember to put God first and at the center of our lives. Do you do this? Are you following the guidance? What could you do today to help you keep your focus on Jesus throughout the day and help you give Him your all?
“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
Psalms 9:1, 9-10
The same Hebrew word for all that was found in Deuteronomy six is found in Psalm 9. The Hebrew word kol which means all, whole, entirety, fully. What's beautiful is that this word does not mean perfect. When all fall short of the glory of God and will have time where we do not love perfectly. More importantly, the word means undivided, whole hearted, and united. When viewed in light of relationship the meaning carries even more weight. It is a covenant vow that God makes to us and asks us to make to Him.
Each passage of scripture carries a different tone. This song is an expression of joy that is expressing gratitude in response to God's generosity and faithfulness. The all here is with a full heart that fully appreciates all that God has given. Is that not the calling for each of us? Our God, who so graciously and generously gave us life, gave us our Savior, gives us all that we have is worthy of full devotion and worship. David is saying how else would I respond to your generosity my Lord God but with a faithful heart of worship for all you done. How will you respond today to God's grace and generosity?
“Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.”
Proverbs 6:5, 16-22
Solomon speaks to the reality in which we were born. We did not enter the Garden of Eden and walk with God in a place of perfection. We live in a world where people are envious, lie, harm others, devise wicked schemes, and do evil. We live in a world where there is an enemy of your life who actively works to lie, destroy, deceive, and steal your joy so that you do not trust God with your all. Is there anywhere you have heard the voice of shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, worry, or blatant lies that are causing you to doubt God or who you are? Paul says take all of those thoughts captive and stay committed to Christ.
Solomon says life is not just about avoiding the bad things that do not align with the love of Christ. Paul says keep the good advice of your father and mother. Bind them on your heart and keep them as close as you can to your head. Your neck is what is between your head and your heart and it is at that place that you fasten the truth of God's words so that nothing goes between the two that does not get filtered by love. What happens when you listen to Solomon's wise words? You allow God to guide you, feel Him as He watches over you, and open your ears to hear Him speak to you.
“I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor...I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord...Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions...I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful"
Ezekiel 36:8-12, 17, 19-21, 25-30, 33
God spoke through the prophet of how personally He knows each of us. He knows we fall short and He knows that we cannot make things right on our own. Our all is not good enough to make peace with the Almighty. We can take heart though because God had and has a plan. He is the one who makes us right with Him. Have you given thanks to God that He made a way where you could not?
He said I will cleanse you and give you a new heart and a new spirit. Does this text not point exactly to what Jesus did for us on the cross? Is this not a preview of how our lives are meant to be spirt led by the Holy Spirit as we receive the baptism of the Spirit after we believe in the resurrected Christ? Look at how God continues to share His why throughout the process of purification and reconciliation to peace with Him. God says I do all this so that you will live in the land I gave you and we will be relationship like we were meant to be. Like we were in the Garden of Eden and like we will be forever in heaven. God doesn't want us to wait until heaven to walk with Him so He made a way for us here and now. Why does He do what He does? So that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven and we would experience life in the kingdom now.
“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy...I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ...Are they servants of Christ?...I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches...If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”
2 Corinthians 11:2-4, 23-30
How strong is your faith? How strong is your commitment to God? How devoted are you to love God with all your heart, soul, and strength? When you read all that Paul went through, do you think you would have stood firm in your faithfulness to God through all the hardships that he endured? We live in a world where if we get a mean e-mail, our favorite drink is not made correctly, or we get cut off in traffic we can quickly turn from living out lives that reflect the peace of Christ. Would we really respond like Paul?
How did Paul remain faithful through it all? He professes that he did not do it in his own strength. He says I am weak. I boast of my weakness. So what carried Paul? He trusted God and relied on the power of the Holy Spirit each moment of every day. How do you survive shipwrecks and stone? Only with the strength of the Holy Spirit. Are you trying to make it through your day today on your own strength or are you relying on the God who says you will do greater things than Jesus?
The invitation today is to grow in your devotion to God by trusting God more fully, loving Him more freely, and walking more closely as you do the best you can with the strength you have been given. What can help? Create reminders in your life and walk with people who similarly have a heart that desires faithful devotion to loving the Lord Jesus. Jesus said the most important commandment of God is that you love God with your all. Why does He say it? So that you will experience the best in life, the fullness of God's presence, and enter the promised inheritance He longs to give you as His dearly loved child.