"And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord; And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."
Mark 12:29-30
Part 2
Yesterday: Who is to be the Supreme Love of Our Lives?
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.”
This is not only true for Israel, but for genuine Christians everywhere. We only have “one Lord!”
Today: What is God’s Kind of Love?
Did you notice that as Jesus quoted the Law’s words to the Scribe, He added two essential thoughts? Our love for our Lord must also come from our “minds” and our “strength.” We will look at these ideas in turn. These words from Jesus own lips were not spoken for His need, but for our own spiritual health. We live by His Words. Jesus answered the devil one day,
“But he [Jesus] answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
Each of His words is vital to the believer! We are duty-bound to know and do them.
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God.”
Our Lord is Jehovah, “the Self-Existent One.” He is the great “I AM,” and there is no other God but Him! The creatures must love Him! We, believers, are duty-bound to love our God supremely! Why did He say to love Him, over perhaps “trust” Him, or even “hope” in Him?
“Trust, hope, and the like, though essential features of a right state of heart towards God, are called into action only by personal necessity, and so are – in a good sense, it is true, but still are properly – selfish affections; that is to say, they have respect to our own well-being. But LOVE is an all-inclusive affection, embracing not only every other affection proper to its object, but all that is proper to be done to its object; for as love spontaneously seeks to please its object, so, in the case of men to God, it is the native wellspring of a voluntary obedience”[1] (JFB).
Love is the affection that requires action to accomplish it. Love is a command, and our emotions are so fickle that they cannot be commanded, for they are ever-changing and all over the charts. But genuine love must be set on doing the right actions, or it can never be correctly displayed. God’s love for us is our most outstanding example of this truth. “For God so loved the world,” if that is true, what did He DO (what action)? “He gave us His only begotten Son!” There, that’s the proof of His love! His action, “He gave…” (John 3:16). Here’s another example of God’s kind of love that demands action. “…Christ also loved the church,” if that is so, what did He DO (what action did He take)? “And gave Himself for it!” Indeed, God’s kind of love demands action! Believers, God has proven His love for us multiple times, but how are we to prove our love for Him? It is more than just singing, “O, How I Love Jesus” (although I hope you do love Him, and I hope you sing this wonderful song). We will never be able to show our love for God without doing the right actions! What will you do for Him?
What actions do we need to take to love God as Jesus said, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment?” Come back tomorrow, and we will try to grasp this truth further.
Quote: “We can obey God without loving Him, but if we do love Him obedience will follow”[2] (Guzik).
[1] Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. Mark 12:30.
[2] Guzik, David. David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. Mark 12:28-34.