The Shema

Day 68

OT Reading: Deuteronomy 8-10

NT Reading: Mark 12:28-44

Wow...so much to talk about. This week we've broken the '300 barrier', so that we have less than 300 days remaining in our journey. Also just today we've set the '1000 barrier' so that now we have less than 1000 chapters of the Bible remaining. Maybe you don't get that excited about the little milestones, but I really enjoy seeing them pass by :-).

I love milestones. I like the wooshing sound they make as they fly by...

Bonus points for anyone who got my random allusion :-).

Beyond the milestones though...I found what I thought to be an amazing alignment of the last two days' readings. Today we read the words of Jesus when he responded to the question, "What is the greatest commandment?" To that he replied:

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 mind and with all your strength.

Mark 12:29-30, NIV

If you are all up-to-date with the readings, then it's likely that those words sound very familiar. Why? Because there Jesus is quoting an Old Testament passage. One that you just so happened to read yesterday from Deuteronomy 6. And out of all the commandments in the Old Testament, all 613 of them, Jesus holds this one up as the most important

And frankly there is so much I would love to say about this...so much about the culture of Israel, how this discussion would have come up in Jesus day, the fact that this passage in Deuteronomy is the only one that I can actually recite in Hebrew (ask me for it some time if you like) and how Jews treat this same passage today. But the fact is that if I dealt with all that, this blog post would be unbearably long in quite a hurry. So instead I'll just cut to the chase.

When asked the question, "which command of God is most important?" Jesus could have listed off tithing rules or Sabbath rules or rules about how to treat mold in the home. But with his answer Jesus cut to the very heart of what God wants. God wants...everything.

Yep, everything. 100%. Nothing held back. All systems go. Pedal to the metal. Every puzzle piece in the box...that's what God wants from your life. You see, while many are content to give God Sunday mornings or to have just enough Jesus to help them behave...God really isn't interested in that. The fact is, He's not content with just having 98.6% of your life, He wants everything that you have, everything in your being solely devoted and committed to loving him. That's what it means to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And above memorizing the commandments or the books of the Bible (both of which are good exercises), God is interested in having you...all of you.

So what are you holding back? What areas of your life are you trying to compartmentalize? What parts are you either not wanting God involved in, or are just hoping that he'll ignore? What is it that's keeping you from giving him everything you have?

I'll admit...those are not easy questions. But I hope you'll answer them honestly. Because frankly only you know the answers, and if you lie, you're only lying to yourself.

But with your answers in mind, I hope you take time today to pray. Pray specifically about how you answered those questions. Perhaps you need to pray that God will reveal those areas you're holding back. Maybe you need to pray that God will help you give up those parts you're wanting to keep for yourself. Or maybe you just need to thank God for the areas that He's pushed into where you're now living for him. Pray that you can be one of those who will be committed to living for him 100%

Because the fact is, God wants nothing less.