Devotion

Deut 6:6-9 states:

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

In Matt 22:36-38, Jesus answered the Pharisees by saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”

Jesus’ statement aligned with what the Pharisees and other Jewish teachers would assert as being immensely important.  The verse is a quotation of Deut 6:4-5, which states, “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.”

This section of Scripture is part of what is referred to as the “Shema,” which is used in a morning and evening prayer by those who devoutly practice Judaism.  It expresses the concept that faithful believers will have utter devotion to God and live their lives with a singular purpose to serve Him and His will. Given this recognition of purpose, believers should be heavenly-minded and live their lives accordingly. This recognition of purpose should also be evidenced by a lifestyle focused on engaging the purpose for their lives that God has revealed to them.