The Great Commandment

I can only imagine what Jesus might have been thinking when the lawyer walked in the door in Matthew 22 and said to him, “Teacher, what is the great commandment in the Law?”

And what did Jesus say?  What was the one thing that the Christ pointed to, and said, “This! Above all else do this!”

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Rather than telling mankind to do the right things or believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, Jesus makes the point of telling the people—all people—to love God.  Love God with everything that you’ve got.  Love God more than food and water and family.  Since this is the first and the greatest commandment, doesn’t that mean it should be foundational to our lives?

I was praying for some specific things last night, and I realized that if I truly loved God like I should and like he deserves, I likely wouldn’t be sitting here praying for these things.

I prayed that I would see that the prize of my faith is knowing Jesus, and not the things that I sometimes hope that God will give me.  But if I loved God like I should, nothing less than Jesus would even be acceptable.

I prayed that my strength would come from God (Psalm 73:25-26).  But if I loved God like I should, my life would be so interwoven with him that knowing him would be the thing that gets me through every day.

I prayed that God would show me areas of pride in my life and in turn help me cultivate humility.  If I loved God like I should, I would be so caught up in knowing him that I wouldn’t give myself any notice.  I wouldn’t think of myself because I would be too busy thinking about Him.

Christ knew full well that the thing that we were made for, that our hearts ache for, is knowing and loving God.  And not just, “Hey God, you’re cool,” but rather, “God, you are the maker and sustainer of everything and everything was made by you and for you.  You know every detail of me and you still love me, so the only thing that is fitting for me to do in return is give you all of the love and adoration I can muster.”

When I think about how horrible this little human brain is at responding appropriately to God in love and intimate knowledge, it feels like another great (not happy great, but big great) reminder that I am a sinner in such desperate need of a savior.  I have jacked my life up with my disobedience and shortcomings, but God will never fail to let me know that Christ came, Christ lived, Christ died, and Christ is risen as an invitation for my broken heart to draw closer to his day by day.