GREAT COMMANDMENTS

Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39, NKJV

There are three great relationships in life: our relationship with God; our relationship with self; and our relationship with other people. Our life is like a cross with vertical (God-ward) and horizontal (manward) lines interesting at the point of self. If we look at the Ten Commandments, we see that the first four have to do with our relationship to God while the last six have to do with our relationship to others.

Our Lord Jesus taught us the same thing. The first and greatest commandment is to love God, and the second is to love our neighbor. Interestingly, self is given a much less important third place, almost an afterthought; we are to love others as we love ourselves. The biblical emphasis is loving outward. The vertical is always the first and most important relationship. God is our creator and sustainer; therefore, He has the first claim on our lives. God has shown us the greatest love in Jesus, so how we respond to this love is of the utmost importance.

Our relationships with the people around us come and go, but our relationship with God will continue forever. A true Christian ethic must always start here. The horizontal relationship is firmly in second place. When everything is working right, our love for others should flow out of our love for God. If we do not love people whom we have seen, how will we love God whom we have not seen? We need to love the people around us truly and actively.

Our love should be clearly seen in the things we say and do. In third place is self. Yes, we should love ourselves. At the same time for most people this is not the problem. Whether they think so or not, most people love themselves more than they love others. This is seen in practical examples of seeking our own good and comfort before that of others. Instead, we should seek to love others as much as we love ourselves.

It is not about us; it is about God and others. In a holy heart, self is happily and rightly minimized. In all of these relationships the standard, ethic, and goal is love. Love seeks what is best for others. Let us today love God with our whole self. Love others as ourselves!!!

Father, thank You for this day and loving us when we were dead in our sins and for bringing us into Your family, simply because we trusted the Lord Jesus as Savior. Lord, we want to love You with every part of our being. Lord, may we live as You would choose and love You with all our heart and soul and strength and mind. Lord, please accept the work of our hands, the words of our mouth, the moments of our rest, and the love of our heart as our worship to You this day. Lord, use us to be the depth of Your love to all who need it today.

Father, we love You. Amen.