Deuteronomy 6:5—”And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
This scripture contains the first and great commandment of God’s law – that we love God and that we do all our works to God from a principle of love. We are to give God our hearts, to love God with all our heart (seat of the understanding), soul (center of will and personality), and might (strength and our entire being).
How do we give God our hearts?
1. With a sincere love – love God not as a show in word and tongue only, but inwardly in truth. It is the internal affection of the mind that God requires; which influences all our actions, in secret as well as in public.
2. With a strong love – love God who is our All, with our all and love none but God in this way.
3. With a superlative love – love God above all creatures, love nothing but what we love for Him and in subordination to Him.
4. With an intelligent love – love God with all our understanding (knowledge); we must know why we love Him and Him alone in this way.
5. With an entire love – love God with all we’ve got. Our hearts must be united in His love. If we could only take abroad in our hearts, this Love of God.
The word ‘heart’ has been taken both as ‘thought’ and ‘affection’ thus the four terms: heart, mind, soul, and strength.
-‘all thy heart’ means we will love God with all of our nature – the good and evil side of us.
-‘all thy soul’ means we will love God even if our life is taken.
-‘all thy might’ means we will love God with all of our time, treasures (money), talent and during every condition whether prosperity, chastisement or deliverance and so on.
How can we love like God?
Only with God’s help. As we seek God, He will reveal Himself to us more and more, and our love for Him will increase because we will delight ourselves in Him. (Deuteronomy 4:29)
“Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”(Deuteronomy 30:6)
