“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”- Matt. 22:37
God’s love for us should always be on our mind, but so should the fact that we are to love Him. It is amazing to think that God loves us, but it is also amazing to think that He desires our love. How is it that He who has everything and can do anything would want the love of vile, filthy sinners? Why would He care? With the great gulf between His holiness and our sinfulness it is amazing that He not only desires our love, but actually devised a means whereby we can be reconciled to Him.
God wants us to trust Him, obey Him, honor and serve Him. But at the head of the list of what He desires from us is love. He even demands it –“This is the first and great commandment” ( Matt. 22:38). And seeing He is deserving of what He demands we would be fools to deprive Him of it. Knowing He loves us how could we not love Him? His demand should be our desire.
Notice that He also speaks of the degree to which we are to love Him- “with all thy heart…soul…and….mind”. Let us then withhold nothing from what He demands, and give to Him our all. When we love God supremely not only is He pleased, we finally find the satisfaction our hearts yearn for. God’s demand for our love is not due to an inflated ego that demands center stage. It is because God knows that He is the missing link between our desires and satisfaction. It is only as we realize His love for us and return our love for His that our lonely heart is fulfilled. It is because He loves us that He demands us to love Him. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
