God's first greatest commandment given to humankind is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Matthew 22:36-38 says, "And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, 'Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, 'The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'" The word "love" in this verse means to value, esteem, and adore. God wants us to value, esteem, and adore Him more than anything or anyone else. He expects us to love Him supremely in our hearts. True Christianity is not about getting what we want from God but knowing and loving Him.
And we can love Him because He first loves us. His love for us is the foundation of our love for Him. 1 John 4:10 says, "This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." Our love for God is the response to His great love for us. God demonstrated His love for us to save us when He gave up His life on the cross for us. If our Lord Jesus did not choose to die on the cross for us, we would never be saved and forgiven of our sins. God wants our love. If we struggle to love God, we must first ask Him to increase our love toward Him. We need the Spirit of God to work and change our hearts to love Him.
Our obedience to our God should always be a result of our love for Him. We obey God because we love Him. The more we love God, the more we are blessed because we walk in our relationship with Him. The apostles always found peace in the Lord Jesus regardless of what they were going through because of their relationship with Him.
Ask yourself these questions for application: (Think through carefully and meditate on the questions while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you) Do I love God? What should I do if I struggle to love God? Why is it important for me to love God more than anything or anyone else?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for loving me unconditionally. Would you please help me to love you as I should? Please continue to change my heart to love you. Do not let the temptations of this world diminish my love for you, but continue to increase my love for you so that I can love and obey you. In your name Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen.