Love- God's Summary

Love- God's Summary!

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Matthew 22:37‭-‬39 KJV

There is quite a number of instructions given in the bible for daily living. Exodus speaks about the 10 commandments, but there are several others touching on human relationships; how to treat other parts of creation such as animals, land and nature as well as keeping God at the centre of everything. In the old testament, at no time did God say one of the commands was greater than any of the others, but in today's extract, Jesus takes time out to answer a question seeking to know which of all the commandments was the greatest. Pleae note that the word 'shalt' is used here, to signify a command, not 'may'. This is not a negotiation; it is an instruction.

Jesus' response is instructive: no command is greater than a response to God out of love. You can adhere to a set of instructions and still lack the personal experience a walk with God can give. The rich young ruler 'knew and kept' all of the commands, and Jesus commended him for it. However, when the test of that knowledge came, he failed woefully. Or is it Judas Iscariot, who had walked with Jesus for 3 and a half years, heard him teach and command and seen his miracles, still ended up dead by suicide. It is never about labour, striving or trying by your power; it is first about the depth of my love for God and a desire to obey Him.

Or you could be like John, quiet and unassuming, but one who Jesus could trust with his mother when he hung on the cross before he died. He wasn't about noise or show off; it was about the knowledge of who Jesus was and wanted, and how he could be a blessing to someone else. We can get so caught up in our own needs that we do not have sight of what is going on around us. We can get so selfish that we want to satisfy ourselves first, before we think of anyone else. Love for God is the driver of love for other people; love for God is the foundation of all other things. When God sits on the throne of your emotions and decisions, love is natural. When love for God is settled, love for others becomes a part of life.

And it is a package that touches your entire life: heart, soul and mind. Your lips can say whatever it pleases; eventually the truth of your convictions will be made manifest to all. From the seat of your emotions, feeling, decision, action, thought, motive and inner convictions, your entire life is defined. So, who's in charge? Who sits on the throne of your heart? Who comes first: your needs or what God desires? These questions have eternal consequences; you have got to be sure where you are headed. His time of favour is here.