Do You Love Him? The First and Great Commandment

Do You Love Him?

The great and first commandment

Matthew 22.37, 38

“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.”

John 21.17

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Well?

We’re not surprised when we come across this little vignette at the end of John’s gospel. We know that Peter needs to be restored to the Lord, and we suspect the three pointed questions about whether or not he truly loved Jesus are related to his three denials a few days earlier. It’s good for Peter to consider this question, given all that has transpired, and given the absolute importance – as he surely knew – of loving God above all else. But what about us? Peter was able to say, “You know that I love you” to Jesus. And certainly Jesus knows whether or not we love Him. But how do we know? And how do others know that we love Him? Is our love for Him real or imaginary? If it’s real, is it growing? Do we love Him above all else or merely along with everything else? Do we love the Lord Jesus Christ with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength? The question is extremely important, as you know, so we’ll take this week, as we examine the great and first commandment, to consider it in some detail. For now, ask yourself: If someone were to ask me today whether I loved God, how would I know whether or not I did?

When was the last time you considered this question at any length? How did you answer it then?
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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.