To Love God Completely
By Rachael Vipon
“‘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’.”
These words form the Shema, part of the Torah, which is recited by Jewish people and meditated on day and night. It’s the first prayer Jewish children are taught to pray…
Sh’ma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad = Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
The Shema begins by declaring that there is only one God, YHWH, and Israel is called to love God with all their heart, soul and strength by living out the Torah. Dedicated Jews devote themselves to reciting the Shema daily and Jesus was no different.
The Shema speaks of oneness, of God’s unity, but also invites us to live a life of wholeness. We are called to love God with all our heart, soul and strength – all three of these areas being drawn together as we centre our lives on Christ.
To love Jesus is to believe in Him, abide in Him, surrender to Him and be restored in Him. It’s all about relationship and every part of us must be involved – heart, soul and strength.
When asked which was the greatest commandment of all (in Mark 12: 30-31), Jesus Himself quoted the Shema as the first, but added a second command (quoted from Leviticus 19:18), ‘‘Love your neighbour as yourself’’. In doing so, He showed that wholeness in God is not found in isolation but in community.
To love God completely is to allow that love to flow outwardly to others. The Shema becomes not just a statement of God’s oneness, but a call to live as whole people in a world that often pulls us apart. God is not divided, and neither are we meant to be.
The Shema instructs us to keep God’s words close – speaking them daily, teaching them to others, and binding them to our hearts. God’s presence can saturate every thought, word, action and intention if we let Him.
We can look to read scripture prayerfully, thoughtfully and reverently. Knowing God’s word of truth enables us to live it out daily, as we are called to be doers of the word not just hearers (James 1: 22).
The Shema is not just a prayer but a way of life, commanded by God, which calls for our all. When we genuinely love God with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our strength, His perfect love will transform our speech, thoughts and actions, inspiring our worship.
This is the gift of wholeness: to live fully present to God, to others, and to the sacred unity that Jesus restores within us.
Lord Jesus, we ask that You teach us to love You with all our heart, mind and soul. Impress upon us Your great commandment, help us to meditate on Your word, devoting ourselves to oneness with You both day and night. May we always look to You first, keeping you at the centre of all we think, say and do. Amen.
