To Love God, Know That He Love You First

Years back, I used to hear constantly preaching on topics on how we must love God; we must love with all our heart, we must love with all our soul and we must love with all our mind. And we must continue to give and pour out from ourselves even until it hurts…

With all sincerity, how many of you like myself have tried and failed? (Let’s be real honest here…) Does the Bible really teach that kinda stuff?

Sadly, not all preaching over the pulpit on Sunday, nevertheless, is God-inspired and Holy Spirit driven. Over the years with such messages, God’s people have tried and failed, tried and failed and finally gave up altogether. And I believe I am not alone on this.

But now, I have good news for you.

The text from where such preaching normally came from is found in Matthew 22, The Most Important Commandment. Before we ingest the text, tails and bones, we must first understand the context of why and how these words were given by our Lord Jesus Himself. More importantly the target audience Jesus is addressing.

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ Matthew 22:34-37

You see, those Pharisees / Sadducess / law teachers were trying to entrap Jesus with their questionings. They may be  experts in the law but not genuine believers of the law. All they wanted was to laden the weight of the law of Moses on Christ like everyone else they had done.

However, instead of playing into their hands, Jesus reversed their strike with the full strength of that law, “You must not have any other god but me.” (Exodus 20:3). Not only must keeper of Moses law not have any gods but Him, followers of the law must love God,  and must love with all their heart , all their soul and all their mind. A rather humanly impossible task.

If someone want to base on their own righteousness and holiness before God by means of keeping the law, then Jesus just shown them an impossible task with a full unadulterated version of the law as required by God. And this is just law number #1, without going into 9 other major laws and hundreds of other minor laws.

Simply put, those requirements are not meant for believers of Jesus Christ because although we are not able to keep the law, Christ came and took our curse for that failing. Jesus took the full punishment for us such that we are no longer guility! The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Romans 8:3

So now, how do we love God then?

Well, it is actually easier that you thought… To know that God’s love has been perfected in us without the fear of judgement and torment because Jesus Christ took all our punishment willingly. To behold Jesus’ glory, favor and life that all good thing happen to us because of His sacrifice; He become poor so we can be rich.

Most of all, we love Him simply because He first loved us… at the cross…

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.  1John 4:17-19