“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” — Matthew 22:36-40
So let’s begin at the beginning and examine the commandment to LOVE GOD “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” To do this we will need to examine the true nature of love and its connection to obedience to the law.
Many people view commandments simply as restrictions on a person's freedom. When a person views God’s commandments in this way they resist submitting to God’s will, acting in pride believing they know better than God. This attitude of defiance will continue unless a person comes to believe in God’s love for them and turns their heart to God.
Why is obedience about love?
Love is at the heart of God’s commandments. Out of God’s love for us he has given us commandments that will bring us joy, peace, and safety, if we willingly obey. When we believe in God’s omnipotence, then we accept that he knows what is in our best interest. When we believe in his love for us, then we can accept that commandments are meant to bless us rather than restrict us.
“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” — Doctrine and Covenant 130:20-21
When we act on our belief and obey God’s laws “he doth immediately bless” us. (Mosiah 2:24, Book of Mormon) Our experiences with the fruits of obedience draw us nearer to God and strengthen our love for him. John taught that obedience to God’s laws is the expression of our love for him.
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” — 1 John 5:3
It is no wonder then that the commandment to love God contains the injunction “with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” It takes this kind of singular focus on God and our love for him, and faith in his love for us, to continue to strive to obey his commandments.
Our striving for obedience teaches us to rely upon Christ and his atoning power and grace to maintain ourselves in good works. In this way, obedience increases our faith and understanding of Christ’s atoning power, and draws our hearts nearer to him in love and gratitude.
This deep and abiding love of God is the only long lasting motivation to follow God’s commandments. For this reason the first and greatest commandment is to “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:3) It is no wonder that Christ taught that upon this law “hang all the law and the prophets.”
To LOVE God is to…
LOVE what God loves
WANT what God wants
DO what God commands
Here are some Scriptures passages that explain why:
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” — Matthew 22:37-38
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him.” — Doctrine & Covenants 59:5
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always.” — Deut. 11:1
“Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.
“And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.
“And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
“And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.
— Mosiah 4:9-12, Book of Mormon
“And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit… Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” — 3 Nephi 12:19-20, Book of Mormon
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.” — Alma 13:28-29
“That which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.” — Moroni 7:13, Book of Mormon
No comments:
Post a Comment