Jesus was asked by a Pharisee what the greatest commandment was, and He answered by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these commandments” (Matthew 22:37–40). This command was not new to the Pharisees because they prayed the Shema in the evening and morning as one of their sacred duties.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5).
In humankind’s fallen nature of sin, we cannot love God and obey Him every moment of every day. We fail in our inability to fulfill the most crucial commandment found in the Old and New Testaments. Why did Jesus give the Pharisees a law that He knew they could not obey on their own? He was trying to get them to see their utter spiritual bankruptcy and their need for a Savior. Without the cleansing of sin that He provides and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit who lives in the hearts of the redeemed, loving God without help is impossible.
When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, God knew we could not fulfill the command to love God with ALL our heart, mind, soul, and strength. So God, in His magnificent grace, gave all who believe in His Son the gift of His Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the Tri-unity of God. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit working in us, that we can fulfill God’s will.
“Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. I have spoken about all this while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.”
“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me” (14:23-31)
We can obey God’s commands with the Holy Spirit living in us. The Holy Spirit is God’s voice, our comfort, guide, strength, and support. He is our teacher who gives us understanding and helps us live out the teaching of Jesus Christ. He helps all who believe to properly interpret the Scriptures as He guides us to live out His truths in life. When we sin, He will convict us of our sin and lead us, if we are willing to obey the Holy Spirit leading, we will ask God for forgiveness and repent.
Oftentimes, it seems impossible for us to love God and others well. We know we are prideful sinners who tend to satisfy our flesh rather than follow the heart of God. We should be encouraged when we read in the scriptures about David, who sinned against God in the worst ways. David showed us that when we fail, we turn to God and truthfully declare, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25–26).
David, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote 73 Psalms. His Psalm 23 reflects a heart that loved and trusted God’s love and provision. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
The only question left for us to answer is, “Do we truly love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and do we love our neighbor as ourselves?” If we are truthful with ourselves, we know that we do not. Still, the good news is that the law and commandments were given as “a tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). Only as we realize our sinfulness and hopelessness that comes to us through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, can we choose to repent, to go against our sinful nature, and to turn to Christ as Lord.
The fruit of our love and obedience to Christ is found not only in believing Jesus, but also in the way we love, honor, and respect others. Simply put: If we do not love others, we cannot, do not love God.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world . . . as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:7–11).
Chuck Colson writes in his book Loving God, “Practically speaking, how does faith become real? That’s where obedience comes in. For maturing faith – faith which deepens and grows as we live out Christian life – is not just knowledge, but knowledge acted upon. It is not just belief, but belief lived out – practiced. James said we are to be doers of the Word, not just hearers. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor martyred in a Nazi concentration camp, succinctly stated this crucial interrelationship: “Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes.’”
Choose this day whom you will serve.