What Does It Mean To Totally Love God?

READ  MATTHEW 22:34-40

MEDITATION: Isn’t it brilliant how Jesus doesn’t oppose love and law nor does he confuse love and law. Jesus doesn’t say the law is love. And he doesn’t say that love is law. They are distinct. But in the Christian, they work together. The law is the rails. It’s the guideline. The pattern. The standard. Love is the energy which drives the train on the rails. Law without love cannot be kept, because the whole purpose of the law is that love might be guided in its expression. Let me put it this way: the function of law is to guide our practical expression of our love. Love to God. Love to neighbor. And so love needs law and the law needs love in the Christian.

On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets. Everything else in the Old Testament in some sense depends on these two commandments: the commandment to love God and the commandment to love our neighbor. This is an amazing statement. We have the authority of the Son of God here telling us something utterly stupendous about the origin and design of the entire plan and Word of God. It is an absolutely staggering commandment.

I don’t know of a better summary of the Christian Faith or a more substantial creed by which to live and, in fact, Jesus said, “On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” Jesus looks these men in the eye and He says, “Your prime duty in life is to love God with all your being.” But what is love? That is a hard question to answer in a few words. Here’s my best shot at it. Love to God means delighting in God. To love means to delight in God. And therefore, neighbor love means looking out for your neighbor’s best interest because you delight in God.

However,  you can’t love like that, unless you know God. You can’t love what you don’t know. You can’t love who you don’t know. And unless you know God, and unless you know Him in a saving manner, unless you’ve experienced His grace, you cannot love as he calls Christians to love. Jesus here calls us all to wholehearted love. He calls us to love God for himself. Not for what He can give us, but for Himself. Love God for who He is. He calls us to love Him as much as we’re able. With all your heart. With all your soul. With all your mind. With all your strength. He calls us to love God actively. To actively display that love of God. Not just to say that we love God, but to practically live out our love to God.

What does it mean to love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind? First of all, if we love the Lord our God with all our mind, then we don’t allow our minds to be filled with trash. So the question arises: what do you listen to on the radio? What is on your IPod? What kind of music do you burn on CDs? What CDs do you listen to? What do you watch on TV? What do you rent when you go to Blockbuster? What video games do you play? What magazines do you read? Do you drool over the swimsuit edition? Do you secretly page through Playboy? What sites do you visit on the internet? Are you into cybersex? What kind of chat rooms do you frequent, what mailing lists are you on, what kind of blogs do you read? What kind of books do you read? Books filled with violence, sex, and other action? What kind of friends do you hang around with? Friends who prevent you from fulfilling your spiritual obligations or friends who hold you accountable and help you in your walk with God? Do you fill your mind with thoughts of death, violence, blood, and revenge?

What happens when we fill our minds with trash? We become so accustomed to certain impurities that they no longer bother us. For instance, we hear and see so much about abortion and sexually immoral behavior that we no longer think of it as being evil in God’s sight. Or, we become so accustomed to seeing sin and evil that we even begin to accept it.

ACTION: ARE THERE ANY MATERIALS, AUDIO, VIDEO, MAGAZINES, BOOKS, ETC., THAT IMPEDE YOUR SPIRITUAL WALK WITH THE LORD THAT YOU NEED TO GET RID OFF? DO IT TODAY. DON’T WAIT ANOTHER DAY.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I invite you into my heart anew today, and I ask forgiveness for all of my sin. Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins and for forgiving me of them through your shed blood for me on the cross. Please take away all the sinful “old things” in my heart that defile me, especially ________(Fill in the Blank) and replace them with the “good things” that you desire to grow in to my life. Please wash away all the sinful thoughts and tendencies toward evil and replace them with a hunger and thirst for your righteousness. I need your help, Lord God, in living this new life in Christ. Please send your Holy Spirit afresh into my life to help me, heal me, lead me and transform me. I ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.