Abraham, Lover of God – The Great Commandment

Abraham, Lover of God

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.”

Genesis 22:11, 12

But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

To love God is to fear Him.

The Law of God is crafted to promote the practice of two supreme loves: love for God and love for our neighbor. We do not take up the Law and the practices it recommends in order to earn the favor of God, that He might save us. Rather, understanding how much He loves us, to what lengths He has gone to save us, and the infinite wisdom and strength that lie back of His every revealed Word, we take up the practice of the Law – the practice of loving God and neighbor – because we believe God knows best how our lives should be conducted, and we are eager to demonstrate our gratitude for His mercy and our confidence in His wisdom. But how do we love God? Love for God begins in the heart, in fearing Him, as Abraham did. Abraham feared God so much that He would do anything God required of Him rather than risk offending Him any further than he already had. The sacrifice of Isaac was the supreme test. Surely Abraham must have been anxious and dismayed at the prospect of this deed. But, more than that, he believed God’s promises, trusted God’s goodness, banked on God’s power even to raise Isaac from the dead, and obeyed God explicitly, fearing to offend His majesty and honor. Love for God is expressed in obedience to His every command, but it begins in a heart that fears Him.

Is it possible to love God without fearing Him? Why not? Can you say that you fear God? How do you demonstrate that fear?

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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.