The Greatest of These Is Love

“Do you love God?” It seems like a simple question, yet for most people the question never comes to mind and the answer to the question seems vague and even elusive. “Do I love God?” What does it mean to love God? How do you love a God you cannot see? Yet Jesus says the first and greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). And Jesus quoted those words from the words God spoke to Israel, His chosen people, in the days of Moses, all the way back in the book of Deuteronomy. Loving God, it appears, has been a mark, a sign of those who are truly God’s people, His children, from the beginning. Anyone can say they “believe in God” … Satan and the demons believe in God to the extent that they know He IS, that He exists … but they can’t say they LOVE God because love is expressed in willing and cheerful obedience to God’s commands. This they cannot and will not do. Love and obedience are intricately woven together and are inseparable in the lives of those who are disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:9-10). “Do you love God?” Is love for God the fountain from which your life in Christ flows? As you come to worship today examine your heart and ask God to show you the truth about yourself and your love for Him.