When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was He said it was to love God with your whole heart. But what does that really mean? What does it look like when someone truly loves God with everything that is in them? To really answer those questions we must turn to the Old Testament and read what follows the verse Jesus quoted.
Deuteronomy 6:5–7 (ESV)
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Truly loving God with your whole heart means so much more than simply feeling a certain way about Him. It means loving not only God but a His inspired word. Storing as much of it as we can in our hearts. Having a deep love for God as described above will find its way into every aspect of one’s life.
Conversations will begin to change and no longer spend your time talking about what you once did. Instead, you will find yourself wanting to talk about the Lord. Even having the first and last thing you think about being God above. These are not simply things God instructed people to do but the result of loving God with every ounce of your being.
It goes further than that as well. Jesus told those who love Him to keep His commandments. Commandments that to the world may seem like a burden. But that is not the case for those who truly love God.
John 14:15 (ESV)
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
1 John 5:3 (ESV)
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
Not only do those who love God with their whole heart not find his commandments burdensome. But they also do not view any aspect of the Christian life as a burden. For instance, waking up on Sunday morning for a church service is not met with dread, but with joy.
Psalm 122:1 (ESV)
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
The greatest sign of someone that is truly loving God with their whole heart is that they do not allow their situation to affect their view of God. In plenty or in famine, those sold out to God will still find a reason to rejoice. Praying to the Lord in each and every situation.
Habakkuk 3:17–18 (ESV)
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
Philippians 4:4 (ESV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
The culmination of all this is what loving God with your whole heart, soul, and might really looks like. It goes beyond just believing that God exists and changes your entire life. Things you avoided before you loved God now you embrace. No longer chasing after your sinful desires but living to please your Saviour.
Study the word for yourself and see how lives will change when people love God fully. Don’t be lulled into believing a false doctrine that says your life doesn’t have to change. See that loving God will cause you to want to change and live according to His word. Jesus told us that loving God is the most important for a reason. Doing so changes every other aspect of one’s life.
Matthew 22:37–40 (ESV)
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Colossians 3:14 (ESV)
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
If you have read all this and believe you love God but disagree with some of what has been said I ask you to pray and fully examine yourself. Do you truly love God alone? Or do you love the idea of God and what you believe He has to offer? Because there truly is a difference.
Scripture shows us time and time again, how loving God will affect lives. This does not change from person to person. Everyone who truly loves God will find that love manifesting itself in their life. Our prayer is that you will submit fully to God and love Him with your whole heart. So that you too can experience the change it brings into your life.
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