Deuteronomy 6:5 AMPC
[5] And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.
At the start of the chapter from which the verse above is taken, we read these words: 'Now this is the instruction, the laws, and the precepts which the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land to which you go to possess it'. It is quite important to note the relationship God had with the people whom He was commanding through Moses. As it has been pointed out over the past few days, you do not place a demand on people who hold no allegiance to you. What will be the motivation to obey someone whom you do not know, follow, or recognise His power and authority? That has to be the starting point for any conversation relating to the verse above.
It is also important to consider the audience. The instruction in the verse above was to the people of Israel, who had been chosen by God to be His treasured possession. These people had been in slavery for a long time, and they had been rescued by God and sent on a journey to the land that God had promised to their father Abraham. It must be noted that with God, every instruction He gives is a command. I can decide to take it as an option, choosing to follow what He says, or I can choose to follow my own way. However, I must know that for every action I take, there are consequences that follow. This is a conclusion that I must embrace.
The command in the verse above says I must LOVE the Lord my God. What would this mean? To love someone is to hold the person in sincere affection. When the love of a person fills your heart, there is no room for anyone or anything else. From God's perspective, it is impossible to love God and the opposite of all that God represents at the same time and to the same degree. As one of Jesus' instructions to His disciples makes clear, you cannot serve God and mammon. I note that the verse refers to the Lord my God. Is He my God, or just a God that you know from afar? Is He my God, or is He just a story I have heard about, but have no personal encounter with?
The verse above then presents this complete picture of total submission: the love that God refers to here is the type that takes the whole of my mind, heart, my entire being, and all my might. What this verse makes clear again is that there is no room for half-measures. It has to take all of me, if it will be what God commands and desires. I cannot give God anything less than my all. He will not accept anything less than my all, and it will be best that I do not offer Him anything less than my all. Of course, with total obedience comes amazing blessings. If I give Him my all, He will be all I ever need. Would I love God the right way? God's time of favour is here.
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