Obedience to the Lord
Deuteronomy 6:4-5, ESV – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
The great commandment as elucidated by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 22:37 was based on the great shema of the Israelites to love and obey their one and only God: a love relationship which is exclusive and involves the whole being.
Love Your Neighbour
Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ~ Matthew 22:37-39, ESV
In “Wanna do outreach? Let’s first talk about love,” Pastor Jeff Chong of Hope Singapore Church said, “Our neighbours are anyone that we encounter; that God has brought into our sphere of influences. Everyone is our neighbour.”
Thus if Christ’s commandment is to love God and love people (see the verses above), then it has to be ongoing acts of love toward others especially our neighbours located around us.
Loving God Completely
Photo: Ben White. Design: Jonathan Yao.
“4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” ~ Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is one of the most notable biblical passages named as the shema (Hebrew for “hear” as found in v. 4) and viewed as the “classic” confession of faith for the Hebrews. Verses 4 and 5 are seen as positive restatement of the first command in the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:6-21). (Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary or EWC)
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