What is the Greatest Commandment? | Loving God Above Everything Else
Jesus said to Love God and Love Others, but what else?
Today, I want to share with you what the Lord has shown me about the greatest commandment. The greatest commandment is a popular scripture from the Bible. One you may have heard countless times, but did you catch the most important part? If you are like me, you might have missed it.
Let’s go to Mark 12:28-31 (NIV) to see what it reads:
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.”
“‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one ,’” is the first quoted part of the greatest commandment. I overlooked the fact that before the command to love God and love others, it is first recorded that the Lord is ONE. God deserves to be loved above all other things because He is God.
1. One God
Jesus’ response was 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' This command goes back to Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 6, which is the chapter after Moses received the Ten Commandments. The first rule of the ten commandments is “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7, NIV) There is One God, so any gods other than the One God is a false god.
God is above all things. Nothing can be greater than Him. People tend to imagine an idol as worshiping a carved image. However, it goes much deeper than that. A god can be any person or thing that takes the place of God. The list of gods is not limited to a solid list, but a few examples of a god can be money, fame, a spouse, drugs, prideful self, and the list is endless.
The Lord is the only one who deserves the highest place in our lives. Everyone is guilty of putting something or someone above the Lord at some point in their life. We can get so caught up in this life that we forget who this life is all about. The Lord! God understands that we are human. The Spirit has a way of graciously speaking conviction in our lives when we need it. When there is something before the Lord in our life, we just need to confess to Him and put Him back in the place where He deserves.
This Bible study does an excellent job at graciously bring light on the areas that we struggle with idolatry and what we should when we realize we’ve been putting things above our God. The More Than Anything | Loving God Above Everything Else Bible Study* will...
- Explain the idolatry seen in Scripture
- Bring light to the ways we continue to struggle with idolatry
- Help fix your eyes on eternal things instead of temporary things
- Lead you to find true fulfillment in God
- Encourage you to examine your heart to turn from idols of any kind
- Show you why God is the ONLY source of peace and joy and how it is eternal and unchanging
2. Love God
Our Lord is one, who deserves all adoration, praise, and LOVE. To love with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength mean that you are loving with all that you have physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. With every piece of your heart, part of your soul, thought in your mind, and each ounce of your strength. We are to strive to love the Lord more and more each day.
How do we love the Lord with a love like that? Putting the Lord first [before all things] is love. It is a daily process. Similar to when people get married, they continue to show love to their spouse daily. Just because they fall in love and get married doesn’t mean they stop striving to grow more in love with each other. Loving is a choice and an action. We love through our time, gifts, words, actions, and thoughts.
Like any relationship, we have times where we make mistakes, don’t put Him first, or slack in showing love. God looks at the heart and understands. Unlike earthly relationships, our relationship with God will never hurt us, make a mistake, forsake us, or mistreat us. The Lord is the only relationship that can fulfill our every need. He continues to fill us with His Love, which makes our love for Him grow even more.
3. Love Others
Being filled with the Love of God can also help us extend love to others. The love we receive from the Father can be shown to the people we encounter. The life of Jesus is a perfect example to follow: He truly loved God and He truly loved others. “‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’” is what Jesus labeled the second commandment.
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12, NIV
A great reminder for loving others is the golden rule: Treat others as you would like others to treat you. When we treat others like we want to be treated, we are loving sincerely from the heart. Loving others is thinking about their needs above ours. Being selfless is a great quality to love others.
“ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.” Philippians 2:3-4
The Lord wants us to treat others the way that He treats us. He treats us with love, value, and compassion. God is merciful, gracious, and forgiving. We ought to treat others with in same way!
“ Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
Get closer to God through this daily devotion.
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