Following Christ-Rediscovering the Jewish Faith of Jesusಮಾದರಿ

Day 11: Listen! Love God

Deuteronomy 6 is a favorite passage of observant Jews, and they typically want these words to be the last thing they say before they die. It’s the same section Jesus quoted when He was asked what He considered the greatest commandment. It begins like this: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

In Hebrew, the first word is shema, so they typically refer to this passage as The Shema. The word shema means “hear” or “listen” as in “pay attention!” God is, through Moses, giving His followers important information, and He wants them to remember it—and think about it.

The passage goes on to give additional details about how we are to love God. Next, it says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Then it goes on to urge us to keep God’s commands on our hearts, surrounding ourselves with reminders of them and talking about them with our companions and our children, both at home and on the road. Here it is:

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. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Those are some strange-looking recommendations. “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads” is followed by writing them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Based on this passage, many Jews attach a small box to their doorframe that contains a passage of scripture that reminds them to love God. This is called a menorah. When entering or leaving the house, they touch the menorah and kiss their hand to remind themselves to love God. (Any follower of Jesus could find this kind of reminder valuable. If you want to put a menorah on your door, they are readily available. Just search for menorah online.) It is one of many ways we can choose to keep God at the center of our lives.

We’ll continue to talk about how we can apply this command to love God, but the first thing is to get it settled in your heart and decide how to live it out.

Reflection

Loving God with our entire being is hugely important. Anything that reminds us to do that during the day is valuable. Can you think of ways to remind yourself to love God during the day?

One of the ways that many employ is the daily use of a Bible app, one that offers a verse for each day and Bible studies like YouVersion. Which do you use and enjoy?

This passage is wholly directed from us to God and not the reverse. It’s a command, not a suggestion—and it doesn’t offer anything in return. We all know God blesses His people, but this verse is one that highlights our choice, not what He does for us. That means the determination of our hearts toward Him on a daily basis is important. How do you daily direct your heart to love God?