“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36, NIV).
A man asked Jesus that question. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” He replied (verse 37, NIV). “This is the first and greatest commandment” (verse 38). Hence, the overarching commandment of the Law is for us to love God with all that is within us.
Jesus was responding to a question about the Law. But under grace, the answer remains the same. God still wants to be first in our life. He still wants us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. He has earned the right to be first in our life.
We were lost and without hope. No one on earth qualified to redeem us. God came down in the person of His Son and died for us. Paul the apostle wrote, “We thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:14-15, KJV).
Based on these words from the pen of Paul, we would be flawed in our thinking if we believe that under grace, we are free to do and live as we please. On the contrary, we are indebted to live for the One who died for us. He purchased us with His own blood (see Acts 20:28). There is but one way for us to fulfill our obligation. That is to make God first in our life.
Why So Many Fail to Love Others
When God is first in our life, our relationships with others will fall into their proper place. We can’t love God and hate our brother at the same time. Or should I say, our love for God is lacking when that’s the case. Why? Because the same God we claim to be first in our life is also the God who calls us to love others. And we don’t willingly disobey Him in this regard when we truly love Him.
I believe one reason some Christians fail to love others is because their love for God has been weighed and found wanting. The more we love God, the more we will love His people and love others. In fact, according to the Bible, the person who does not love his brother is not of God (1 John 3:10).
The relationship between knowing God and loving others is far-reaching. John writes, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8, NASB). This verse underscores one of the reasons we live in a world of deep-rooted racial hatred and political division.
I’m saying that the serious lack of love toward others in our world reflects a world in which too few of its inhabitants know God.
God will not become first in our life by happenstance. Having such a relationship with Him is not incidental to being a Christian. We must be intentional. It starts with an unwavering decision that we will love God with our heart, soul, and mind. When we do, according to the Bible, we will love others as well.
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.