Matthew 22: 35 And one of their number, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. 36 Teacher, which [a]kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light—which are heavy?] 37 And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). 38 This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. (AMP)
Decisions. By far the most important decision you will ever make and will continue to make with every breath you take is: do you choose to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength? This is not a "have you" as in something you might have done once in your distant past or a "will you" as in something you might do later. No, this is a DO YOU as of right now, this moment, this circumstance, this event, DO YOU choose to love God with all you? Some might say, "this is too hard." Jesus said "For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne." (Matt 11:30). Others might say I've already checked that square, but Jesus said "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven." (Matt 7:21).
So, DO YOU? Do you choose to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength? How do you know? Again, Jesus said "If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. (John 14:15 & repeated in 21, 23, & 24 so it must be important!). Later, Paul was inspired to state "
22 But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, 23 Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [[f]that can bring a charge]. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires." (Gal 5).
So this is how you know: If you love God, you will obey his commands. Not out of fear (although it is a useful motivational tool and we are in fact commanded to fear God - out of over 300 references to fearing God, start with Ryan's favorite: Pro 9:10), but out of an uncontrollable urge to please God. Once, I thought I could "straddle the fence" and live as I knew I should and deeply desired to except when around my school "friends" and then I could behave differently to impress them. Those relationships didn't last long and certainly didn't encourage my growth in Christ. I learned that Jesus meant what he said “Whoever is not with me is against me" (Matt 12:30) and the guilt I bore outstripped whatever benefits I got out of trying to live to impress others.
Where are you in your decision regarding Christ? Have you accepted Him as your Savior? If so, AWESOME? Now, is He LORD? Does He control your life or is He at the other end of the 9-1-1 prayer line where you turn when everything else you try fails? Here's how I know: Priorities are those things that you spend your resources on - your time, money, and thoughts. Does your love for God guide every expenditure of your resources? Do you live a life in context with your relationship with God or is He someone you take out of the "box" on Sundays and Wednesdays for a little "pick-me-up?"
This is an important decision to get right. I maintain that failure to get this one correct makes all your other decisions irrelevant. What do you think?
2 comments:
That's a lot of subject material! I could make a 6-week sermon series from that. I hope the knuckleheads read it, especially Reed.
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