Each day, the YouVersion Bible app displays a verse of the day on my phone. Yesterday’s verse was Deuteronomy 6:5.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV)

Throughout the day, I began thinking about the way that we live our lives. Most of us would have to admit that much of each day, we live moment by moment, making decisions without giving God a second thought.

A friend recently asked me, “What is the greatest sin?”

I didn’t voice an opinion out loud, but was thinking along the lines of pride.

And although connected, I think my friend had a more accurate response. He proceeded to contrast Jesus’ assertion of the greatest commandment with the greatest sin being its opposite.

And he [Jesus] answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27, ESV)

Jesus added the qualifier mind to emphasize that even our thought-life condemns us. The greatest sin would be to not love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. 

When you look at sin in this way, it is obvious to see that nobody is without sin. Even a person who leads the most benevolent life imaginable would be hard pressed to admit that they have always loved God with all their heart, soul, strength, and especially mind.

It becomes equally obvious, in light of this revelation, that Jesus is the only one who could ever live a life without sin. Because every individual, by nature, is preoccupied with self, only God, Himself, could wholeheartedly satisfy the greatest commandment and live a perfect life.

We all fall short of the glory of God and are desperately in need of God’s saving grace.

But praise be to God! Through Jesus, we have access to God and the opportunity for eternal life.

If you have never called out to God and accepted His gift of salvation, there is no better day than today. (How can I be saved?)

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

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