Intentional FaithThe Command to Love
Freedom Found in Devotion
On Second Thought
There is something in us that hesitates when we hear the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” If we are honest, part of us resists the idea of commanded love. Love, we think, should be spontaneous, voluntary, and unforced. It should rise naturally, not be required. And yet here stands Christ, placing love at the center of obedience, not as a suggestion, but as the greatest commandment. That tension invites us to look deeper, because what initially feels restrictive is actually revealing something essential about who God is and who we are.
When I step back and consider the fullness of God’s character, the command begins to make sense. The psalmist declares in Psalms 107:1, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” The Hebrew word for “mercy” here is חֶסֶד (chesed)—a covenantal love marked by steadfastness, loyalty, and enduring kindness. God’s love is not fleeting or conditional; it is rooted in His very nature. When God commands us to love Him, He is not demanding something arbitrary. He is calling us to respond rightly to who He is. It is as if the sun were to command us to acknowledge its light—not for its benefit, but because living in denial of it would leave us in darkness.
This command also flows from what God has done. From the opening words of Genesis 1:1, we are reminded that God is Creator. He formed us, breathed life into us, and established the very framework of existence. Beyond creation, He has acted in redemption. Through Christ, we are rescued from sin and restored to relationship. Paul writes in Philippians 4:19 that God “will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” When I begin to trace the breadth of God’s provision—creation, salvation, sustenance—it becomes increasingly clear that love is not an unreasonable response; it is the only fitting one. As A.W. Tozer once observed, “We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God.” That statement reframes love not as obligation, but as alignment with reality.
Yet there is another layer to this command that touches something deeper within us. God calls us to love Him fully because He knows that anything less leads us into distortion. We were created with a capacity for ultimate devotion, but that devotion will attach itself to something. If not directed toward God, it will find another object—success, relationships, possessions, or even self. Scripture consistently warns that such misplaced love becomes idolatry. It promises fulfillment but ultimately enslaves. In contrast, loving God frees us. It reorders our desires and restores our perspective. Augustine famously wrote, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” That restlessness is not a flaw; it is a signal pointing us back to our intended source of fulfillment.
As I reflect on the life of Jesus, I see this command lived out with clarity. His entire life was oriented toward the Father. In John 4:34, He says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” That is the language of love expressed through obedience. It is not mechanical or forced; it is relational and purposeful. Jesus demonstrates that loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind is not about emotional intensity alone—it is about total alignment. It is the integration of our thoughts, desires, and actions around the reality of who God is.
This kind of love is not something we manufacture on our own. It is cultivated as we understand God more deeply and as the Holy Spirit works within us. The Spirit enables us to love God not merely out of duty, but out of transformed desire. Over time, what once felt like a command begins to feel like a natural expression of who we are becoming. Love grows as truth takes root. The more we see God clearly, the more we respond to Him fully.
But here is where the reflection turns inward. If I struggle to love God fully, it may not be because the command is unreasonable—it may be because my understanding is incomplete. When my view of God is small, my response will be limited. When my awareness of His goodness deepens, my love begins to expand. This is why Scripture repeatedly calls us to remember, to reflect, and to rehearse what God has done. Love is sustained by remembrance. It is strengthened by gratitude. It is expressed through devotion.
On Second Thought
At first glance, the command to love God with everything within us can feel like a restriction on our freedom. It seems to impose a demand on something we believe should be freely given. But on second thought, what if the command is not restricting love, but rescuing it? What if it is not limiting our freedom, but defining it? We often think of freedom as the ability to choose anything we want, yet Scripture presents a different picture. True freedom is the ability to choose what is right, what is life-giving, what aligns with our created purpose. When God commands us to love Him, He is not narrowing our options; He is directing us toward the only relationship that can fully sustain us.
There is a paradox here that is easy to miss. The more completely we give ourselves to loving God, the more fully we become ourselves. In surrender, we find identity. In devotion, we find clarity. In loving Him above all else, we are freed from the exhausting cycle of chasing lesser things. The world tells us to distribute our love across many pursuits, to keep our options open, to avoid being “too committed.” But God calls us to singular devotion—not because He needs it, but because we do. A divided heart is an unsettled heart. A focused heart is a grounded one.
So perhaps the real question is not whether we are being asked to love God too much, but whether we have been settling for loving Him too little. And if that is the case, then the command is not something to resist—it is something to embrace, because within it is the invitation to experience life as it was meant to be lived.
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Alive in Christ
Bernardo Dainese
