Episode Details

What's your purpose in life? Someone actually asked Jesus that question — and his answer fits in a single sentence. In Part 4 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike Woodruff unpacks the Greatest Commandment and shows how it distills your entire God-given purpose into one line: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength... and love your neighbor as yourself."

Mike breaks down two things easy to miss in this answer. First, it's about love — not rule-keeping, religious performance, or being impressive to God or anyone else. Second, it's total: God isn't asking for a slice of your life or a Sunday-morning department of your schedule, he's asking for all of it. Mike also traces this command back to its roots in Deuteronomy 6 (the Shema) and makes a crucial point: loving God is never the entrance exam, it's always a response to being loved and rescued first. Your purpose, Mike explains, is framed entirely in relationship — loving God vertically and loving people horizontally — never in isolated self-fulfillment.

This sets up next week, where the series will slow down and unpack each piece of the Greatest Commandment — heart, soul, mind, and strength — one at a time.

📖 Scripture focus: Matthew 22:37–39 (the Greatest Commandment); Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (the Shema)
🎙️ Speaker: Pastor Mike Woodruff
📅 "Made for Something" Devotional Series — a multi-week journey into purpose and calling

In this devotional you'll learn:

• Jesus' one-sentence summary of your entire purpose in life
• Why the Greatest Commandment is about love, not performance or rule-keeping
• Why God wants all of you, not just a portion of your week
• How this command connects back to the Shema in Deuteronomy 6
• Why loving God is always a response to grace, never an entrance exam
• Why your purpose is framed in relationship — with God and with others — not in yourself

👉 New to our devotionals? We post short, daily devotionals designed to help you start your day grounded in Scripture. "Made for Something" is a multi-week series exploring purpose, calling, and what it means to be made on purpose, for a purpose.

Frequently asked:
What is the Greatest Commandment in the Bible? When asked what matters most, Jesus answered in Matthew 22:37–39: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Together, these two commands summarize humanity's core purpose.
What is the Shema in Deuteronomy 6? The Shema is Israel's foundational declaration of faith, commanding God's people to love him completely and to pass that love down to their children — the same language Jesus later quotes as the Greatest Commandment.
Does loving God come before or after God's love for us? According to this teaching, God's love and rescue always come first — loving God back is a response to grace, not something we do to earn his favor.

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