He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”     Matthew 22:37-40 HCSB

In just a couple days we will celebrate our nation’s independence. Sadly, what was once a great nation seems to be in a downward spiral. Politicians rant and rave about how they will fix things and make this a great nation again. These same politicians uphold sinful behavior. Many in our nation defend our right to sin. People hold protests and walk around with signs promoting sinful behavior. It’s so sad when you really think about it.

All these politicians with these ivy league educations can’t figure out that it all just comes down to love. In our Scripture passage today, the Pharisees are trying to trip Jesus up. They ask Him which is the most important commandment. They expect Him to say that one commandment is more important than the others, then they figure they will have him in their trap. But, sadly they have no idea who they are messing with. He sums it up with love. He’s not rude, He doesn’t call them idiots. He simply tells them that it is all about love. He responds by telling them that we must love the Lord our God with all we heart, all our soul and all our mind. If we do so, we’ve got the first four commandments covered.

If God has first place in our hearts, our souls, and our minds we will put no other gods before Him, we will not worship idols, we will not misuse His name and we will honor the Sabbath (the Lord’s day) and keep it holy. First four commandments covered, check!

Secondly if we love others as we love ourselves, we will treat people as we want to be treated. Remember the Golden Rule? We will honor our father and our mother. We will not hate others in our hearts which the Bible tells us is the same as committing the act of murder.

If we put others above ourselves, we will not commit adultery.

If we put the needs of others above our needs, we will not steal nor will we covet or desire anything that belongs to anyone else.

Jesus talks a lot about love. In John 15:10 Jesus tells His disciples that if we keep His commands, we will remain in His love. When we dedicate our lives to God, we obey Him out of love. A half-hearted love produces a half-hearted obedience. But, when we love Him with all our heart, we want to do all we can to obey Him. We want to bring Him glory, honor and praise. In John 15:8 Jesus tells us that the Father is glorified when we produce fruit and prove to be His disciples. We do this by showing love for others. In John 15:12 Jesus commands His disciples to love one another as He has loved us. That’s a tall order. God loves us unconditionally. He commands us to love others unconditionally as well. We may hate what they do or how they talk or behave, but we must love them.

When you really love someone, you value them, you honor and cherish them and give them priority. Jesus gave us priority over His own life. While we were yet sinners, He died on the cross to save us of our sins (Romans 5:8). There is no greater love (John 10:13).

If you are obeying God out of obligation, you are missing out. If you are obeying God because that’s what your parents or your spouse or your friends expect of you, you just don’t get it. But if you are obeying God because of the great love He has for you, then you know there is nothing better. Having that same kind of love for Him gives you peace (Philippians 4:7) and joy no matter your circumstances. It also helps you to have love for others and consider them more important than yourself.

No matter what problem you are facing today, love can fix it. A deep, dedicated love for God the Father will fix whatever is wrong. It will be done in His timing, but He will grant you peace while you wait.

Take time to do an assessment. Are there things that get in the way of you loving the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind? Are you loving others as Christ has loved you?

If not, now’s the time to start.

Have a great day!