The Great Commandment was first given in a context of monotheism, worshipping the one true God, because there is not another to divide the heart. It also cannot be understood or appreciated by our common views of love, the kind of love that lets us off the hook. It is really about the controlling passion of our lives. It could really be paraphrased as, “Be passionate about God and caring for your neighbor.” What we are passionate about reveals who our gods are. What we love and serve is our God.
4 “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….13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—Deuteronomy 6:4-5;13-14 (ESV)
