The Great Commandment

ByMarjie

“…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 neighbour as thyself.”

Matthew 22:37-39 KJV

We were created to love and worship God.

  • God gave us life.
  • God gave us love.
  • God gave us His Son.
  • God gave us salvation.
  • God gave us His Word.
  • God gave us His protection.
  • God gave us His continual care.
  • God gave us His commandments.

God has given and given and given again.  He’s faithful and kind and merciful and loving and full of goodness.  He cannot lie, and He loves us far more than we love ourselves.

We, on the other hand, were sinners.  We were full of pride and arrogance, often ungrateful, unforgiving, unkind, and unloving.  Before we were saved, by nature, we displayed the traits contrary to those of God. 

Yet, II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  When you got saved, God gave you a new nature in Christ.  Now you have what it takes to be like Him: faithful, kind, merciful, forgiving, loving, honest…

And God wants us to be just like He is.  That’s why He’s given us the two greatest commandments on Earth:

  1. To “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”  To love God that much means to take all your focus off of yourself and place it on Him; to let your life revolve around God and His Word, His will, His ways, His plans, His goodness; to obey God in such a way that you yield total control of your life to Him.  Only then can you love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. 
  2. To “love thy neighbour as thyself.”  Now to truly love your neighbor as yourself, you must have the heart of God.  And that comes from obeying the Word of God.  The more you obey God’s Word, the less you focus on yourself (your wants, goals, and desires), and the more concern you show for the needs and cares of others. 

If you will strive to obey these two great commandments, you will live a life of continual joy and peace through Christ Jesus your Savior.

Psalm 119:165 says, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”

Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

There is nothing in this world more precious than peace.  And it’s the natural reward of your obedience to God’s commandments.   

Similar Posts

  • Mercy Flows from God’s Love

    And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Exodus 34:6-7 KJV God cannot…

  • God Promises Peace

    “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3  We like peace – peace and quiet, peace between nations, peace in our households and on our jobs, peaceful settlements, peaceful neighborhood relations, peace treaties…  Our world is always looking for peace, but never finding it.  That’s because peace is only available through God.  Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom…

  • Our Faith Overcomes the World

    “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4 KJV The word overcome means “to defeat in competition or conflict; conquer.”  As children of God, we have the power to conquer the world, and that power comes through our faith.  To “overcome the world” means to make good and right decisions that go against the sinful influences that pervade…

  • Love is of God

    Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. I John 4:7-8 KJV People need to feel loved, to be loved, and to love others in return.  Yet no one can love another apart from God.  In fact, in and of ourselves, we’re not even…

  • Would a Loving God Send People to Hell?

    We’ve heard it said time and again. God is love, and a loving God wouldn’t send anyone to hell. But exactly how loving is the God of creation, the God of our universe, the God of all living?  According to John 3:16, God loved us so much “…that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  God loves us tremendously. …

  • Fear God and Keep His Commandments

    Deuteronomy 6:17 says, “Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.” A command is an order given by someone who has authority, but a commandment is a “divine command.”  And who has more authority than God?  No one. Wait a minute!  That’s the Old Testament.  That’s the law.  We’re not under the law.  We’re under grace….