Episode Details

Remember the first time you fell in love — how you thought about that person the moment you woke up, all day long, and as you fell asleep, without anyone telling you to? In Part 5 of our "Made for Something" series, Pastor Mike Woodruff explains that this is exactly the kind of love Jesus is describing when he commands us to love God "with all our heart." Not procedural. Not dutiful. Passionate.

Mike tackles a question a lot of people quietly wonder about: doesn't it seem a little needy for God to command us to love and worship him? He unpacks why that's backwards — God doesn't ask for our love because he's lacking anything; as one God in three persons, he exists in perfect, complete relationship within himself. He commands our love because we're the ones who need to give it, in order to become who we were made to be. Mike brings in Jonathan Edwards' concept of "holy affections" and a memorable illustration — nobody stands at the rim of the Grand Canyon and shrugs. Real apprehension of who God is moves us to awe, not lukewarm interest. The devotional closes with a practical challenge: don't just do something for God today — say something to him.

This is Part 5 of our multi-week series unpacking the Greatest Commandment, one piece at a time.

📖 Scripture focus: Matthew 22:37 ("love the Lord your God with all your heart"); Revelation 5:8
🎙️ Speaker: Pastor Mike Woodruff
📅 "Made for Something" Devotional Series — a multi-week journey into purpose and calling

In this devotional you'll learn:

• Why loving God "with all your heart" describes a passionate love, not a procedural one
• Why God commanding us to love and worship him isn't for his benefit, but ours
• Jonathan Edwards' concept of "holy affections" and what lukewarm faith actually reveals
• The Grand Canyon illustration — why apprehending who God is naturally leads to awe
• A practical challenge to identify what's actually taking first place in your heart

👉 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 does it mean to love God with all your heart? It describes a passionate, wholehearted love — similar to the all-consuming attention of falling in love with someone — rather than a dutiful or procedural kind of devotion, offered in response to God's love for us.
Why does God command us to love and worship him if he doesn't need it? Because God exists in perfect, complete relationship within the Trinity, he lacks nothing. He commands our love and worship because we are the ones who need to love him in order to become who we were made to be — not because he needs to be filled up.
What did Jonathan Edwards mean by "holy affections"? Edwards argued that true faith isn't just intellectual agreement but involves the heart being genuinely engaged and moved by who God is — a lukewarm, detached faith falls short of real apprehension of God.

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