JOHN CHOWNING
What simple, yet profound, words!
Love. For centuries, poets have sought in vain to plumb the wonders of this word. Since God is love (1 John 4:8) and His love has four dimensions—breadth, length, depth, and height (Ephesians 3:18), it ought to be clear why poetry is still being written today.
God. Philosophers have mightily, yet futilely, attempted to explain or deny Him. Who can comprehensively fathom a self-existent being whose name is “I AM that I AM” (Exodus 3:14)? He is the One from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2) who knows and declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). What human mind can conceive of One able to “do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20)?
When asked by a disingenuous lawyer, “Master which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:35-36), Jesus’ august and succinct answer was “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Love God. Behold its greatness! The Greek word used by both the lawyer (v. 36) and our Lord (v. 38) was mega. The function of this four letter word was to represent accurately something large in scope, great in intensity, heavy in weight, regal in dignity. How aptly it is used in this question and answer.
Loving God is great because love is a choice: “thou shalt love...” Our Lord places this commandment in the future active, indicating it must be personally and actively pursued in a voluntary manner. God does not irresistibly force you into loving Him against your will.
Loving God is great because God is personal: “thy God...” Jehovah is not an idea, theory, or concept; He is a being, and we reflect Him by having a heart, soul, and mind. No other creature on earth mirrors His image as humans do.
Loving God is great because “all” is exhaustive: “all thy heart...all thy soul...all thy mind...” When these “all”s all meet together, there is nothing leftover of your immortal nature. When “all thy might/strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Mark 12:30) is added, there is nothing of you leftover. It is impossible to obey the great commandment by loving God some of the time with some of your being.
Love God. Behold its pre-eminence. “This is the first...commandment.” Here the word used is protos; it denotes something first in rank, supreme in importance.
Loving God is first because it is what God requires of you: “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear then Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). It is the bottom line, the final litmus test, the authoritative rubric used to determine whether your life is judged a success or a failure.
No speculation about such matters is necessary. No guess work is required. God has communicated the main thing, and it is a personal choice whether you make and keep the main thing the main thing in your life. You cannot improperly prioritize this command and receive the Lord’s “Well done”.
Loving God is first because it is good for you: “...for thy good” (Deuteronomy 10:13). From the sixth day of creation onward, God’s commandments and statutes have always been made for humanity’s well-being. Therefore, obeying every one of His commandments ought never be grievous to anyone’s heart (1 John 5:3).
Love God. Behold its simplicity: “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). By the count of the Jewish rabbis, the Old Testament Law contained 613 commandments, ample fuel for endless, unedifying arguments over which was the greatest.
In two simple statements (Matthew 22:37, 39)--quoted from God’s word—Jesus summarizes the Old Testament’s message comprehensively, accurately, and succinctly. Given the apostle Paul’s inspired commentary on how the second greatest commandment is carried out in daily life in practical terms (Romans 13:8-9), it is reasonable to conclude that the same Ten Commandments make a divine commentary of the principles of righteousness on which the first and great commandment is based.
Loving God with all your heart means God is the highest priority in your affections: “Thou shalt have none other gods before me” (Deuteronomy 5:7).
Loving God with all your mind means God’s will is the only authority in your worship and service: “Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments” (Deuteronomy 5:8-10).
Loving God with all your soul means utter reverence for the holy, holy, holy God (Isaiah 6:3) and all things identified by Him as sacred: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Deuteronomy 5:11).
Loving God with all your strength means He is lord over your time; every day of every week is under His authority: “Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou” (Deuteronomy 5:12-14).
Are you obeying the first and great commandment?