[Great Verses] Love the Lord FullySample

Love the Lord your God with everything

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. This is the great and first commandment.”

When Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment in the Law?” He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t equivocate. He didn’t say, “They are all important.” No, Jesus responds with a strong, clear answer. He responds immediately and emphatically. The most important commandment, the very first and foremost commandment, the reason you are on the planet, is simple: love God with all your heart.

Can you believe it? The sovereign, infinite, holy God, the God who created 300 billion galaxies with His mere word; that God wants to be loved by you. What He wants from you, more than anything else, is your love. He wants to be a priority to you. He longs for you to love Him back. He wants to be wanted by you. It’s absolutely incredible, but it’s true.

So love Him with all your heart, with all you have, with all you are. Love Him fiercely, love Him affectionately, love Him obediently, and love Him passionately. The essence of the Bible is not dos and don’ts. It’s not rules and regulations. It’s not religious rituals. No, the essence of the gospel is love. Love the Lord, your God. Augustine, the great theologian of the early church, once wrote, “Love God and do what you please.” His point? If you love God, you will want to please Him, so do what you want.

Bernard of Clairvaux once said, in response to a question about why and how God is to be loved, “The reason for loving God is God Himself, and the measure in which we should love Him is to love Him without measure.” Not a half-hearted, lukewarm, casual, and convenient love, but a wholehearted, passionate, fully devoted love. That’s why you exist.