Loving God and Loving Others: The Basics of Becoming Christlike by Wycliffe Bible TranslatorsНамуна

Day 5: Loving God With All of Your Strength

Do you ever feel like you’re not enough? When Matt compared his education and experience to other people, it often led to feelings of insecurity. But that’s not how God sees us. Matt realized that “strength” doesn’t refer to his human ability or determination. Instead, it’s a command to give God all of his being — to fully yield to His will.

We must learn how to step out in confidence, not in fear, when God calls us to challenges beyond our power, knowing that while our strength will fall short, He is enough.

In Deuteronomy 6:5, the Hebrew word translated as “strength” is me’od, meaning “exceedingly, vehemently, forcefully, utterly, abundantly, wholly, with ‘muchness’ (as in greatness in quantity, measurement, or degree).”

When Jesus calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, He’s calling us to love God with our everything.

Loving God with all our me’od means loving Him with everything that we are, everything that we do and say, and everything that we have been given. Every moment, opportunity, ability and capacity are all gifts from God — and we should use them all to love and honor Him! To love God with all our me’od is to love Him without limit. It’s a call to love God with all of our “muchness.”

The apostle Paul speaks to the practical application of me’od in his letter to the church in Colossae. In Colossians 3:12-17, Paul shares very practical ways to follow Jesus and stay connected to Him and to do so intentionally.

Because we are loved by God and He chose us to be holy, our response should be to build our life on Him with gratitude (Colossians 2:6-7). We should be established and steadfast in our fellowship with Him in everything we do, say and think. No part of our life is exempt.

This is what it means to love God with all our strength.

Sometimes it’s easier to pick and choose what we do “... for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31) — those things that come naturally to us as individuals. And there are areas of life we sometimes value above other areas because we consider them “holier.” But everything we do as believers should be done with the intent of honoring and glorifying God and reflecting hearts that are fully committed to Him. To remember this and live it out is to love God with all our me’od.

Questions for Reflection:

• What is God saying to you in light of what it means to love Him with all your me’od — everything that you are, have, do, say and think, and with every opportunity and capacity God gives you?
• What areas of your life do you need to bring before Christ in order to honor Him in everything?
• What changes do you need to make to better reflect your love for God in every area of your life?