Deuteronomy 6:5–6: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.”

February 21st, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The heart is considered to be the center, the core, of a human being. It is the heart that governs the will, the intellect, and the emotions. It is the seat of our choices, or volition. When we read these verses in Deuteronomy, the use of the word heart jumps out at us. God says His commands (His Law), “shall be in your heart.” It should not surprise us that here in the middle of Moses’ reading of the Law for the second time, God is pointing to relationship as the most important issue between Him and us. God has always desired a personal, intimate, heart-to-heart relationship with us.

In the New Testament, Jesus referred a lawyer to these verses when He was asked,  “which is the greatest commandment.” Jesus replied:

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’ . . . and the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ . . . on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37–40).

Jesus distilled the entire Law to two commandments. The Rabbis’, on the other hand, said, “To keep so many laws is angel’s work,” meaning there were so many laws and interpretations of the laws that it was impossible to keep them. When a person tried to keep one of the laws perfectly, they would end up breaking another one. They had endless debates as to which law was the most important commandment. But Jesus didn’t hesitate or pause before He answered. It was simple to Him, and it should have been simple to them too. The bottom line is always the human heart: our will, our emotions, the place from which our choices come. Jesus was pointing to the motives behind the actions. Are believers obeying the word of the Law out of duty; or is the Law in their hearts, and their actions are following?

How do we get God’s word in our hearts? He places His commands into our hearts as a result of our surrendering to Him. What God most wants from us is our heart and love. We usually think that God demands many other things from us, like our time, money, or submission. But what God really desires is our hearts. When we do love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and might then everything else falls into place.

“LORD, we give You our hearts, souls, and might today for Your service.”