Luke 10:27
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
LUKE 10:27
The lawyer answers with the Great Commandment: love God with heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. This quotation spans Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, signaling the unity of worship and ethics in Israel’s law. Jesus commends the answer, signaling that wholehearted devotion to God and neighbor is the heart of righteousness. The emphasis on every aspect of the person—heart, soul, mind, strength—unfolds a holistic picture of devotion that informs all of life, not a segmented spiritual life.
Theologically, the verse integrates worship and moral action as inseparable. Love for neighbor embodies love for God; authentic devotion manifests in how we treat others. The command also implies human responsibility within divine grace: we are called to participate in God’s love by choosing to love others well. The second part of the command indicates the communal dimension of righteousness; neighbor-love extends beyond kinship and borders to include all people as created in God’s image.
Practically, you can translate this into daily routines: set aside time for God who asks for your whole heart, and then identify a neighbor you can love in tangible ways this week. It might be assisting a coworker, listening to a friend in pain, or helping a neighbor with chores. Consider your digital life: do your online interactions reflect love for God and neighbor? Let your calendar reflect generosity—time with family, volunteering, or mentoring. Regularly ask yourself, “Who is my neighbor today, and how can I show love in practical, concrete ways?”
Cross-References: Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37-39; James 2:8; 1 John 4:20-21