THE FIRST AND GREATEST COMMANDMENT

When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment of all, He replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38).

Those who truly love God as He commanded will enjoy a fruitful, meaningful, and joyful walk with the Lord. Those who fail to love God in this way will soon wander away from Him and get involved in all kinds of things which break their fellowship with Him. Even if they stay away from some specific things which are clearly displeasing to Him (such as lying, stealing, killing, adultery), they will still not enjoy a fruitful and joyful walk with God if they do not continually put Him in first place in their lives and truly love Him with all their heart and soul and mind.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus emphasized the blessedness and importance of putting God first in our lives when He said: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these [other] things will be given to you as well.” Matthew

6:33. No matter what we may choose to do or choose not to do, if we don’t put God first in our lives and seek to honor and please Him in everything we do, our lives will never be all they could be or should be. Jesus also taught that when we live a life of holiness and good works, we not only please God directly, but we also cause others to praise Him as well. He said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.

And in the Old Testament, we read of the joy and delight faithful believers bring to

Almighty God when they love and serve and obey Him. The prophet Zephaniah wrote, “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

Several years after Jesus returned to His Father in heaven, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christian believers in the city of Corinth. Most of the Christians in Corinth had come out of a very pagan and sinful background and often found it difficult to live the holy and obedient life that God requires. When Paul wrote to them, he reminded them of the importance of always seeking to live for the Lord—no matter what they were doing. He wrote, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Later Paul wrote to the church in Colosse, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17). If we sincerely desire to walk with the Lord, there is absolutely no place and no time when we can simply forget about God and go our own way— putting our personal desires before our love for God. If we do not deliberately choose to keep God in first place in our lives, it will be very difficult to keep in step with Him. And if we are out of step with God, we will lose the joy and blessing we could personally have and we will also forfeit the blessing we could be to others. Nothing is more important in our walk with God than making a diligent and faithful effort to please and honor Him in everything we do or say or think (See 2 Peter 1:5-11).

Bless you.

Ref: Christian Leaders Institute