Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Thought for the Day: In yesterday’s sermon, I mentioned these words of scripture that are often called the Shema. As I was driving home yesterday after the Chili cook-off and a meeting, I begin reflecting on the words. Actually, it was one word in particular that appears three times. It is the word ALL. Now I don’t know much Hebrew, and so understanding the word we translate as ALL is a bit confusing to me. It is the word kol, and it is a noun. It means the whole, the complete, the full. It is more than a description of the heart, soul and might. It is describing the wholeness of your heart, the completeness of your soul and the fullness of your might. I wonder if what the Hebrew author was attempting to communicate is this ALL finds its wholeness and fullness apart from who we are. It is God who makes it possible for us to love with such completeness – a God who inspires us to love with the fullest and most complete love that ever existed. It is my hope and my greatest yearning to love the Lord my God with all of my heart, and with all of my soul and with all of my might.
Prayer: Give me a full and complete heart that is able to both enjoy and honor you, O Lord, with the love you first game to me. Amen.
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