Love God
What matters most in life?
The way you answer this question shapes the very foundation of your being. If you answer with family, you put all your time and energy into family. If career, you work harder than anyone else. If you say self fulfillment, you focus on yourself before anyone or anything else. The most important thing in our lives determines everything about us.
A group of religious leaders once asked Jesus this very question in Matthew 22 verse 36. They inquired, “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
For some context, the law of Moses, also known as the Torah, contains over 600 commands teaching the Jewish people how to live. How could Jesus decide which command mattered most? What a tricky question!
But Jesus answered this difficult question with great wisdom and clarity, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37).
Photo from an Easter morning sunrise service a few years ago in Stuttgart, Germany.
According to Jesus, loving God matters most in life. So what does loving God mean?
Loving God means putting him first in your life. It means making him your highest priority and allowing your love for God to order the rest of your life’s priorities.
According to Jesus, this means we love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind.
Loving God with all our heart means making God the one we desire most in life. We desire many things: food, sex, good health, love, acceptance, hope, security, joy, etc. When we love God with all our heart, we invite him into our desires. He creates healthy boundaries for our desires, and fulfills us not only for a brief moment moment, but for all eternity in him.
Loving God with all our soul means finding our true purpose in God. We all crave success, acknowledgment, achievement, and a lasting legacy. When we look to God for our purpose in life, then he helps us form healthy perspectives about our achievement and success on this earth. For example, instead of striving to become the top in our field or achieving a certain standard of wealth, we learn that serving God is more important than our own self-focused ambition.
Loving God with all our mind means directing all our thoughts toward God and his goodness. It means letting God into every thought, plan, and dream we hold, asking him to correct our wrong thoughts and align our ideas and dreams with his will.
In summary, loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind means putting him first in every aspect of our lives. It means letting him change and fulfill our desires, our purpose, and our thoughts. When we do this, we experience life the way God intended.
Augustine of Hippo, an important church leader in the 4th century, wrote, “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee.” God created us to know and love him. He already loves us, and desires us to love him in return.
Do you want to discuss the topic of how to love God? Join us on 20.06 for our next Explore the Bible discussion group on this topic.
