Loving God
Jesus often quoted the Old Testament. Yeah, you read that right.
One of the most famous and renowned moments in the Bible is actually a moment in which Jesus quotes the Old Testament to the crowds and disciples. This happens in Matthew 22, in which Jesus is asked which of the commandments was the most important. He responds, by claiming “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37). Yet, that actually comes from Deuteronomy, as God the Father laid out His laws to the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 6:5).
So, if Jesus says it to be the most important of all of the commandments, and it is repeated multiple times in the Bible, what does it mean?
While I could go into the semantics and the history of the people of Israel to explain why they needed to be reminded time and time again that there is only one God, I won’t. I want to dive right in with you and show you exactly what it means to love God in a practical, day-to-day way.
Thinking about loving God in your day to day would mean that you respect Him and honour Him. You listen to what He has to say and you do what you can to accept what He has to say. If I were to put it in the context of a truly loving relationship between a married couple: they listen to each other. If a wife says that she is allergic to peanuts, do not expect their husband to give them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The husband will listen and try to change so that their wife can be happy. It’s the same for God: He wants you to heed to what He says and to do it. The Bible even proves it in 1 John 5:3, where it is written: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”
Loving God every day also means that you take your time to spend time getting to know Him better. A disinterested husband who does not get to know his wife will lose his wife. It is the same with God. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”. His Word, commandments, and perspective are meant to make you better. You will be a better person for allowing God to present Himself to you, as He did for Abraham (Genesis 17:1) and Moses (Exodus 3: 1 - 10).
Finally, your love for God is meant to evolve every single day. As you respect, honour, and take time apart for Him, your love for Him will grow. Allow me to explain it differently. When a child has a toy for the first time, they will take care of that toy and love it as if there were no other toys. Yet, that love is nowhere near the love that that same boy will have for their first-ever girlfriend, which, in itself, is nowhere comparable to the love they will have for their future wife or their kids. See, love is meant to grow; loving God every day is the same, and getting to know Him better leads you to love Him more.
The fruit of the love that you have for God will bear fruit in the relationships that you have. Paul talks about it briefly when talking to the Thessalonians, writing "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you" (1 Thessalonians 3:12). God makes your love grow, but you need to honour Him, respect Him and spend time with Him.
To conclude, let us pick apart another famous line that Jesus said. This one, part of his teachings, being “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:23).
So What Now? When you love God, you are faithful to Him, every day. You do not choose another god, whether that be a literal other god or an idol such as fame, money, or trophies. It is a conscious choice that you are to make every day, and He is waiting for your answer as we speak.
It’s time to love Him and live for Him.
All the best, be blessed.
Eli