Loving God

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:30

A scribe asked Jesus, Which is the first commandment of all (Mark 12:28)? Most Christians will affirm that they love God? When we think of loving someone, we so often think in quantitative instead of qualitative terms.

The man says to his sweetheart, “I love you,” and she responds, “How much?” You would not have to worry about God asking that question. The Pharisees and scribes were determined to keep God’s laws. They were more devoted to law keeping than they were to God Himself. They claimed to understand the law along with its intricate oral tradition, but they really did not understand God. The two ought to be perfectly linked for genuine love involves a personal relationship not some distant relationship.

In Philippians 1:9-11, Paul prays that our love may abound yet more and more in KNOWLEDGE and in all JUDGMENT. His prayer is not praying that our love be continually displayed, but that our love might abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that we might discern what is and what is not genuine love for God.

There is a little word in our text that is significant that we normally do not consider. It is the word “ὅλος,” pronounced hol-os. It simply means “all,” indicating “whole” or “complete.” While the Pharisees were determined to keep “ALL” the law, Jesus indicated that they ought to love God with an emphasis on “ALL.” The outward keeping of the Law is no guarantee that there is an inward love for God, though there are people today who think that their works will prove their relationship to God.

Elizabeth Prentiss was a frail woman, mostly an invalid with constant pain. There was a time of greater sorrow when she lost two of her children. In the midst of her inner pain and times of special need, she turned to the Word of God and saw how God met Jacob in a unique way during a time of special need in her life. While meditating and praying about her own need, she began to write the song we sing, “More Love To Thee.”

More love to Thee, O Christ
More love to Thee
Hear thou the prayer I make
On bended knee

This is my earnest plea
More love, O Christ, to Thee
More love to Thee, more love to Thee
More love to Thee, more love to Thee

That ought to be our prayer. It was Paul’s prayer for believers in Philippians 1 and it ought to be our daily prayer that our love for God would increase more and more in knowledge and in ALL judgment. There is that little adverb again – ALL. Think today on that word in relationship to Christ’s instruction – Loving God with ALL your heart, soul and strength. Ask yourself, “Do I really love God?” Be careful not to think in quantitative terms but in qualitative terms.

We will consider this subject again, but keep in mind: God desires that we love Him, not because of what He might do for us or give us, but for Who He is. We know that God is the source of all love and proved His love for us in the incarnation, life, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. What is there in your life that reveals genuine love for God?

Closing Illustration

I have a most unusual coin. It is an 1864 American two-cent piece. During the Civil War, people were hoarding pennies due to the uncertainty of the economy. The two-cent coin was an effort to solve the problem created by the shortage of pennies. We must keep in mind that it was during a time of war and so something was added to the coin that reflected what America was supposed to be all about. It is the first currency to include the motto, “In God We Trust.” There has never been another two-cent coin and this one was only minted for ten years.

Today, the motto is on many of our coins and even on our dollar bills, but our trust for God along with our love for God is becoming more and more rare. Our love for God ought to be far greater than our love for money. Keeping in mind that God is still in control, it is interesting to see how He keeps all these reminders before us. There will be no one who will stand at the Judgment of God who will be able to say, “I did not know!”

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand (Psalm 95:6, 7a).

George Stiekes serves as a Lay Pastor at Bethany Bible Church in Hendersonville, NC. See here for a more complete bio of brother Stiekes extensive ministry. We republish his material by permission.