What Does it Mean to Love God with Our "Whole Heart"?

By Dr. Brandon Steenbock, Family Minister

Matthew 22:37-38 - Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.”

“What kind of God is so insecure he would damn you to hell for not loving him?” That was the text from a friend, and you can see the derision in the question. But even deeper is a feeling that my friend was looking for an out - a way to blame God so that he could justify walking away. 

I thought about my answer for a while. A blessing of text conversations - we can sort through our words and respond carefully, as long as we give ourselves the time to do so. And what I came up with was something along these lines:

Imagine a man who loves his wife completely. He adores her. She is everything to him. He works tirelessly for her good. He’s focused on her well-being. He gives her everything she needs. He’s faithful to her. He promises this unending, lifelong love for her.

But she doesn’t love him back. She loves the good things he does for her, but she also loves it when other men shower her with attention. She isn’t faithful. She isn’t kind to him. She treats all of his goodness to her like she deserves it, and then turns around and despises him whenever he makes a decision for her good that she just doesn’t like. She flirts with other guys. She’s probably sleeping around, or at least thinking about it. 

Is that husband insecure because he just wants his wife to love him back? Is he the problem if he finally sits her down, gives her the ultimatum, “Be faithful to me, or this has to end”? Would you blame him if, in the end, he parted ways with her because she treated all his goodness like garbage?

This is the analogy Scripture uses for God and wayward people. I’m not just making up a story. In the book of Hosea, we are introduced to a prophet whose life is to be an object lesson to the people. Hosea is called to marry a woman who will not be faithful to him, and is called to faithfully love her despite it. She runs away. She sleeps with other men. She has another man’s baby. She treats all of Hosea’s love like garbage. And Hosea is called to continue to love her. 

Here’s the amazing thing about this story: That object lesson goes both ways. Yes, it demonstrates the awfulness of people who had everything they could ask for from God, and still were not content. But it also demonstrates the amazing, gracious love of God. Because Hosea stands as a picture of a God who still seeks his people even when they run away. Even when they are unfaithful. 

And the truth is, when God asks us to love him with our whole hearts, he’s only asking what a husband asks of his wife, or a wife asks of her husband. And people balk at the idea of God giving someone their way when they say, “I want nothing to do with you!” and they find out that “nothing to do with God” is the essence of damnation. But they miss the other side of the story, which is a God who is always, always, always, seeking to draw people back to himself. He wants to love people. He wants to bring them back. He wants to keep blessing them.

God’s love is faithful and forever. And it’s never too late. As long as you live, you can always turn back to God and say, “I was wrong. I see now you love me. I am done with my wandering. I am yours forever.” That’s what Hosea’s wife did at the end of his story. It’s what God wants all of us to do as well.