Love Is God's LanguageSýnishorn

The Greatest Commandment

In the old covenant, the emphasis was on keeping the laws of God, the law keeping was laborious and burdensome, and the law also brought with it the sense of judgment which I mentioned in yesterday's reading. God's grace is far more superior to the laws, and even though the people of Israel had to keep the law, provisions were also made by way of the blood sacrifices for their failures. When Jesus came to the earth, he became that perfect sacrifice that would put us in right standing once and for all with God once we come by way of the blood of Jesus. However, the knowledge of good and evil is embedded in our nature and the flesh will always try to puff up to prove that we can keep the law be it through discipline or self-will, and this system causes us to look to ourselves for the answer rather than resting in God's love for us. 

The leaders of the law in Jesus' time had major issues with the gospel Jesus was preaching and always sought an opportunity to ridicule him. One day while Jesus was teaching in the temple courts the teachers of the law approached him to question his authority, but Jesus always had an answer ready that most time quieted and angered them all simultaneously. The question was posed to Jesus, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" (Mark 12:28 NIV). Jesus' response was amazing, and every time I read it I must pause and drink in the depth of all that is contained within, "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." (Mark 12:29-31 NIV).

Jesus summed up all the laws in the old covenant with just two and we translate those two laws in layman term as, "Love God; Love People." The truth about God is that he is love and he made us to love us not punish us. The bible tells us we are the object of his love, he created us to love us. Can you even fathom that thought, for me that was difficult to comprehend when all I had was heartache and rejection my whole life? Once I arrived at that place of understanding that no matter who rejected me or turned on me, God who is love made me just so he can love on me, oh that changed my life forever. The truth is we can never love God or people if we first don't know how much God loves us. I pray today you are gaining freedom from your past hurts and leaning in on the fact that God loves you.

Declaration: God loves me; God made me so He can pour out His love on me, God loves me!