No Greater Calling (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Matthew 28:19-20)


“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. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (ESV)


Jesus was once asked what is the greatest commandment, to which He quoted the Shema from Deut 6:4-5 “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind”. This command He went on to say encapsulated the entire purpose of the Law. God revealed Himself through His Words given by Moses so that His people would know to fear Him, love Him, and obey Him. According to Jesus there was and is still no greater or higher commandment in all of Scripture. 


Notably it was God’s design for His people to demonstrate their love for Him by “hearing” (giving ear to, paying close attention to) and obeying His commandments, and then teaching them diligently to their children. According to Jesus the greatest calling in life is to know/love God and make Him known to your children. Of course it would be impossible to teach any subject well that you don’t intimately know yourself and you can’t really give away something you don’t have; therefore the first step towards obeying the greatest commandment is to know and love Christ, who Himself is the Word of God (John 1:1, Revelation 19:11). 


Since the Fall, all of us were born into the world without the knowledge of God and from the beginning it was God’s plan for parents to means through which God would reveal Himself in the world. In context the greatest commandment quoted by Jesus from Deuteronomy 6 was for children to be regularly taught the Word of God by their parents at home. That responsibility was never to be delegated or outsourced to others.


Jesus not only taught The Greatest Commandment by He also gave His disciples the Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”


In short all believers are commissioned by Christ to make disciples (learners) of all people by teaching them to obey God’s commands (His Word). To that end Jesus is with us always to empower us to accomplish that assignment. If God’s power and presence is available to give us the ability to travel to the ends of the earth to help all peoples obey His Word how much more is He available to equip us as parents to fulfill that calling day to day in our home. 


God’s desire is to reveal Himself through His people as we know Him, love Him, and obey His Word. There is no greater calling in life. The more we come to know Christ and live out His commands the more we are accomplishing the highest calling of all. Above anything else we may ever do for Christ may it be said that we faithfully taught our children to know and love God and His Word. 

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