Loving the Lord with Everything

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”  (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

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Some passages in Scripture have such profound theological and practical significance that they form the very heartbeat of God’s people across generations. Deuteronomy 6:4–9 is one of those passages. Known as the Shema (from the Hebrew word shema, meaning “hear” or “listen”), these verses have been recited daily by devout Jewish people for centuries. Jesus Himself identified the command to love God with all our heart, soul, and might as the greatest commandment (Mark 12:29–30).

In these verses, we are invited into a life that is centered fully on God in our heart, mind, body, home, and community. This passage calls us to a faith that isn’t compartmentalized but all-encompassing. 

Let’s take a few moments to walk through each part of this passage, drawing out its meaning, its gospel connections, and its application for our daily lives.

1. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (v. 4)

The opening call—“Hear, O Israel”—is not simply about receiving information. In Hebrew thought, to “hear” is to listen with the intent to obey. This isn’t passive listening; it’s an active, engaged response to God’s voice.

The declaration that follows is foundational:

“The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

This is a bold affirmation in a world filled with competing deities and philosophies. In the ancient Near East, the nations surrounding Israel served many gods, each with its own sphere of influence. But Yahweh declares His exclusive uniqueness: there is no other God beside Him. He is not one among many; He is the God.

This truth is intended to be an anchor in our worship and devotion. We live in a world filled with modern “idols”, things like success, comfort, reputation, or security, that demand our allegiance. The Shema confronts us with the reality that our loyalty must be undivided. If God is one (supreme, sovereign, and sufficient) then He alone deserves our wholehearted devotion.

Are there “competing gods” in your life? What has been subtly taking the place of God as the ultimate focus of your heart?

2. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (v. 5)

This is the heartbeat of the passage: God is calling for our total love. Notice that the command begins with love, not fear, duty, or mere ritual. Yes, obedience is required, but obedience flows from love.

The three aspects mentioned, heart, soul, and might, aren’t meant to divide our personhood into separate compartments, but to convey the idea of wholeness.

• Heart (lev) in Hebrew often refers to the center of our thoughts, desires, and will. Loving God with all your heart means aligning your inner life, your affections, motives, and intentions, with Him.
• Soul (nephesh) refers to the whole of our life, our very being. It’s the breath in our lungs and the life within us. To love God with all our soul means loving Him with the totality of who we are. 
• Might (me’od) literally means “very” or “muchness.” It points to our strength, resources, and capacities. Loving God with all our might means leveraging every ounce of energy, every talent, and every possession for His glory.

Jesus would later affirm this command in the Gospels, adding “mind” to the list (Matthew 22:37). This isn’t changing the meaning, it’s clarifying that the love God calls for is all-encompassing.

Loving God with everything is far more than occasional emotional affection.  It’s a daily, intentional devotion that saturates every corner of life.

3. “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” (v. 6)

God’s commands aren’t meant to live on stone tablets alone, they’re meant to be written on our hearts. This imagery points to an internalization of His Word. It’s not enough to hear God’s commands; they must become part of the fabric of our inner life.

This anticipates the New Covenant promise in Jeremiah 31:33, where God says He will write His law on our hearts. Through Christ and the indwelling Spirit, we can now experience this in a profound way. The Spirit empowers us not just to know God’s commands but to desire and delight in them.

Having God’s Word on your heart means that His truth shapes your decisions, frames your worldview, and colors your responses to life’s challenges. It’s not about carrying around a checklist, it’s about carrying around a living relationship.

Do you regularly take time to hide God’s Word in your heart, not just in your head? What Scriptures have become a part of your daily thought life?

4. “You shall teach them diligently to your children…” (v. 7a)

God’s Word is not only for our personal devotion, it’s for generational transmission. The command to “teach them diligently” carries the sense of engraving something permanently. Parents are called to impress God’s truth deeply into the hearts of their children.

Teaching our children about God is not primarily the job of the church or a Christian school, it’s the sacred responsibility of the home. This doesn’t mean a formal sermon every evening. It means modeling and speaking of God’s greatness in ways that are natural and consistent.

If you’re a parent, make conversations about God a regular part of your home life. Let your children see you seeking the Lord in prayer, reading Scripture, and making decisions by His guidance.

For many years, I have found that I enjoy reading from digital devices like my computer screen, iPad, Kindle, and phone.  As I was doing that, even when my children were small, I realized that it probably appeared to them that I was just surfing the net or checking social media.  For that reason, I made a point to keep a physical copy of the Bible next to my chair and to use it regularly, even though I find it easier to read from a screen.  I did that it would be obvious to my children that I was reading Scripture just by observing my behavior.

One more thought regarding the concept of teaching your children.  Some of your children won’t necessarily be biologically related to you.  By God’s grace, if you’re investing in the faith of others, you may have spiritual children as well.  Who are the “spiritual children” in your life that you can also intentionally disciple?

5. “…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.” (v. 7b)

This verse paints a picture of faith that is integrated into the normal rhythms of life. The home is the first mission field, and everyday life is the classroom.

When you sit, when you walk, when you lie down, when you rise—these are ordinary moments. God’s design is for His Word to be part of all of them. Faith is not something to be boxed into Sunday mornings. It’s meant to shape the way we think, speak, and act in every setting.

The idea is that every moment is an opportunity to remind ourselves and others of God’s truth. This doesn’t mean we must constantly quote Bible verses, but it does mean that God’s perspective should naturally influence every conversation and decision.

In your daily routines, are you creating space for God’s truth to be present? How can you weave spiritual conversations into ordinary moments?  My favorite place is the car, particularly during a long drive.  Some of the most fruitful spiritual conversations I had with my children, during their formative years, took place while we were driving. 

As they grew older, I noticed that our best conversations took place at the end of the day.  Knowing that I tend to operate on less sleep than is common, my kids would often find their way to the family room to chat when the rest of the family was in bed.  Many of those conversations lasted multiple hours.

6. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” (v. 8)

The imagery here became literal in Jewish tradition through phylacteries which are small leather boxes containing Scripture, worn on the forehead and arm during prayer. Whether or not we take this literally, the symbolism is powerful:

• The hand represents what we do.
• The forehead represents what we think.

In other words, God’s truth should guide both our actions and our thoughts. Loving God with everything we are requires that His Word be the controlling influence over our work, our plans, and our inner thought life.

This is countercultural in a world that tells us to follow our feelings or trust our instincts. God calls us to measure every action and thought by His truth.

Are your thoughts and actions consistently filtered through the lens of God’s Word?

7. “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (v. 9)

The doorposts and gates were visible, public places. To write God’s commands there was a way of declaring: This household belongs to the Lord. It was both a personal reminder and a public witness.

In Jewish tradition, this verse gave rise to the use of the mezuzah which is a small case containing Scripture, affixed to the doorway. For Christians, the principle is the same: our homes should be marked by the presence and authority of God’s Word.

This also challenges us to consider the “doorways” of our lives, those entry points where influences come in. Are they guarded by the truth of God? Are the values of your home, relationships, and community shaped by Scripture?  Are the forms of entertainment you indulge in Christ-honoring, or do they conflict with the teaching of His word?

If someone spent an afternoon in your home, would they sense that it is centered on the principles of Scripture and the heart of the gospel?

8. Gospel Connection: This is Fulfilled in Christ

While this passage calls us to wholehearted love for God, we know that in our own strength, we fall short. Israel’s history, and our own, shows that we often love other things more than God. This is why the Shema ultimately points us to Christ.

Jesus perfectly fulfilled this command. He loved the Father with all His heart, soul, and might. Through His death and resurrection, He not only forgives our failures but also gives us His Spirit so that we can grow in love for God.

The Shema is not a burden to crush us, it’s an invitation into the life that Jesus Himself modeled and now empowers us to live.

9. Living the Shema Today

• Daily Devotion: Begin and end your day with a conscious turning of your heart toward God.
• Scripture Saturation: Keep God’s Word before you through reading, memorization, and reflection.
• Family Discipleship: Integrate faith conversations into ordinary life. Let your children and others see your love for God in action.
• Public Witness: Let your home, work, and relationships reflect God’s truth to others.
• Thought-Action Alignment: Let the Word of God guide what you think and what you do.

10. Encouragement 

The Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 invites us into a God-centered life, one where our love for Him permeates our thoughts, words, actions, homes, and communities. It’s a call to whole-life devotion, not half-hearted religion. And it’s a reminder that God’s commands are not meant to be kept at arm’s length but cherished deeply in our hearts.

May we, by the grace of God and the power of His Spirit, be people who not only recite the Shema but live it so that generations after us will see and know the beauty of loving the Lord with everything we are.

© John Stange, 2025