The requirements for living in a covenant relationship with the God of Israel were very strict. The people of God had to promise to obey all of the commandments, ordinances, and customs given to them by the Lord. But this was not dry legalism and rules - it was something that they did with their whole heart and soul, a way of showing their love for God. We cannot just take our relationship with God for granted. It is the same with a marriage or any other relationship: unless there is commitment to love and serve the other the relationship will wither and die. Making a commitment to do our best - even imperfectly - to follow God's paths will deepen and enrich our experience of God. And we must do this joyfully - with full heart and soul.

God's greatest commandment is to love without limit, so Jesus presents us with a model of loving. People usually love others because they are attracted to them, or because they want to be loved in return. It is very difficult to love people who seem to be unlovable: the negative, mean, selfish, or cruel ones. It is especially challenging to love those who have wronged us in some way. And yet love them we must, for that is how God loves. He loves without distinction and without conditions the just and the unjust. We do not have to like everyone, but loving does not mean liking. It means refusing to hate the other as well as being kind and concerned with the well-being and happiness of all. And all of this even if we are not loved in return!