The Greatest Commandment

Matthew 22: 34-40 (NIV): Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.  One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"  Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

    The bottom line of our faith is love. Everything hinges on it. We live in a circle of love: God loves us, we love each other, and we love him. Our faith is not about do's and don'ts, its about relationships. It's about loving each other and loving God, who loves us.

    Jesus was answering a question in this passage: which commandment is the greatest. His answer basically covered them all: love God, love each other. If we can get this down, we've got it. We are fulfilling God's design for us and following his law.

    But what does it mean to love God? Is God commanding us to feel strongly for him -- to like him a lot? No, our feelings must be voluntary. He wants us to delight in him (Psalm 37:4), but that is up to us. 

    Love is more than feelings, it is a verb, an act of will. We love God by giving him our undivided allegiance -- "all your heart"; our unending devotion -- "all your soul"; and our unconditional trust -- "all your mind". Your heart is your loyalty, your soul is the essence of who you are, and your mind is your conscious thought processes.

    So God wants first place in our lives. How do we prove we love God? By loving each other, whom we have seen (1 John 4:20). Paul shows us how to do this in 1 Corinthians 13. God is love, God loves us, and God commands that we love him and each other. Our faith is all about love.

True Love Never Fails

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 (NIV): Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. 

    We have to be careful not to confuse what true love is. We interchange fondness for love. We say we love something if we really like it. We think of love as a feeling, but true love is a verb. It is a deliberate act of the will. It is taking action.

    So, true love is a Godly love. It is agape love in the Greek language. Notice that you can substitute Jesus' name for the word love in this passage. The more like Jesus we become, the more we will love.

    A patient person will love people even though they are not perfect. True love is unconditional love. A  kind person treats others how he would want to be treated -- even if they don't deserve it. It does not envy, but is happy when others succeed. Love is humble, not a braggart. It is not proud. This doesn't mean you are not proud of your accomplishments and blessings, pride means you feel you don't need anyone. Rude people put down others, but love is kind.

    Love is not self-seeking, but looks out for the needs of others above itself. Love puts others first. It isn't easily provoked to anger and doesn't hold a grudge when it is wronged. Instead it forgives. It wants what is best for everyone and rejoices when truth wins. Love sticks with it to the end. It is unconditional and never fails. It trusts and sees the best in others.

    Achieving true love is not going to be easy, but it is our standard. It is our goal. It permeates everything. Someone said love makes the world go round and I'm beginning to see why.

The Gift of Romance

Song of Songs 1: 9 - 17 (NIV): (Lover) I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.  Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.  We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. (Beloved) While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.  My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.  My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. (Lover) How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves. (Beloved) How handsome you are, my lover! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant. (Lover) The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.

God invented love and romance. He not only approves of it, he wants us to enjoy it. He is the one who gave us the feelings of attraction we feel for one another. He wants us to be full of joy, to be satisfied and fulfilled. One of the best ways to experience such joy in this life is through a wholesome romance. A romance that God approves of and blesses. And God blesses us when we do things his way.

    We bring such hardship and heartache on ourselves when we do not follow his ideal. God's plan has always been for one man and one woman, living together in the bond of marriage for life. He will forgive us when we deviate from this ideal, and he will even bless us despite ourselves, but God's way is always best. Yes, Paul said he had the gift of being single, but most of us desire romance.

    Solomon praises his bride for her beauty in this passage. Men, our wives need continual praise from us. They need to hear how beautiful they are. Over and over. And the bride praises Solomon for his looks, personality, and how alive their bedroom is. Women, a man's ego is a fragile thing. We need constant encouragement from you.

    This chapter ends with him saying their house is strong - with wood beams in a land where most people live in tents. When we follow God's plan, our home will be strong and secure, full of joy, fulfillment, full of happiness and love. When we follow God's plan, the honeymoon doesn't have to end.

God Disciplines His Children

Hebrews 12: 10-11 (NIV): Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

    We love discussing God's goodness to us, but we forget that part of that goodness involves a certain amount of suffering. I want to remind us of seven reasons why God allows us to suffer:

    1) To Discipline us. God's discipline makes us more mature. There is no shortcut to this and God knows it. Verse 10 above also reminds us that discipline makes us holy -- which is God's plan for us. 2) To Humble us. In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul says God allows a "thorn in his side" to keep him from becoming conceited. God hates pride, but will lift us up if we will be humble.

     3) To Test us. This is the point of the book, Job. God wants the enemy to know our faith is real; he wants us to know our faith is real, and he wants to confirm that our faith is real. How would we ever know if we weren't tested? 4) To Prioritize us. In Numbers 14:34, God tells the Israelites they would suffer for their sins and "know what its like to have me against you." Suffering tends to point us away from sin and toward God.

    5) To Strengthen our Faith. James 1: 2 - 4 says that trials test our faith and develop perseverance. So the trials we face make us stronger. God desires that our faith is strong so we will live by it each day. 6) To Glorify God. In John 9: 1 - 3, Jesus said a man was born blind so that God would be glorified when he was healed. Everything ultimately works for our good and God's glory.

    7) To Prune us. John 15:2 says that God will prune us to make us more fruitful. God's goal for us, while we run the race set before us, is to be humble, mature, righteous, joyful, strong and holy. Some pain is involved in reaching these goals, but with God's help, we can do it. With God's help, we can win the race.