The Greatest Commandment
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus tells us that love is the greatest commandment, and all the Law hang on these two commandments. When our hearts are filled with God’s love, all the commandments become natural and desirable, and love in our hearts enables us to understand the Lord to a deeper level. Since the greatest command is love, we pray that the Father will continue to fill our hearts with his love.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5) The above verse is a list of what comes natural to us when our hearts are filled with God’s love. One thing not on the list is that love motivates us to bring Christ to everyone, because our hearts are sad for lost souls, that have been deceived by Satan.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:29) How can we conform to the image of Jesus without a heart of love? Love motivated Jesus to save people, and love motivates us to tell people about salvation through Christ.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1) Love frees us from self, and places our priority on serving Christ and being a Light to others. We can never be free in Christ until we are free of self. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. (Galatians 2:20) The apostle Paul was free because he was governed by Christ. His desire was to do whatever the will of Christ was, and he established many churches and wrote many books of the New Testament. And the Lord’s divine power carried Paul through a difficult life.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:4) Love is foundation of the Christian life, and all the commands are built on this foundation. Every command in the Bible is needed to bind them together in perfect harmony, and every command is attainable through the power of God.
Today know that love is the greatest command, and love makes all God’s commands a desire of our hearts. When we obey all of God’s commands, we will experience life to the full.
Prayer: Lord guide me through the Spirit, to fill my heart more each day with your divine love. In Jesus name, Amen