"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…soul and…mind." Jesus in Matthew 22:37.
“I call [love to God] the motion of the soul toward the enjoyment of God for his own sake, and the enjoyment of one’s self and of one’s neighbor for the sake of God.” (Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, iii, x, 16)
The problem with the world is not hedonism; the problem with the world is secular hedonism's failure to point us to Him who truly satisfies. To know God and to be swept up in the praises of God, this is what truly satisfies the human soul. (John Piper, Passion for the Supremacy of God)
I still remember one summer sitting in hot Moby Gym at Colorado State University at Campus Crusade for Christ’s (Cru) staff conference. Author Brennan Manning was speaking. What he said then still rings in my head today: Christianity is a moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day love affair with the Great God of the Universe.
Man wants to “earn” his salvation and therefore make God his debtor by “owing” him heaven. That is characteristic of religion; religion is man-centered and man-exalting. Each and every religion falls under this description. Except Christianity. In this sense, Christianity is not a religion; rather it is a relationship with God. It is not about man making himself acceptable to God; it is about God revealing Himself and reconciling man to Himself through Jesus Christ.
Jesus silenced the Sadducees (v. 34). Then the Sadducees and the Pharisees gathered themselves together (v. 34) in a way that is reminiscent of how “the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed” (Psalm 2:2). After putting forth a long list of opponents in their attempt to discredit Jesus (Matthew 21:23, 45; 22:15-16, 23), the next person paraded out is a lawyer (v. 35). One can almost hear the Lord in heaven laugh and scoff (Psalm 2:4).
The lawyer tests Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment of the Law?” (v. 36). The Law of Moses had over 600 commandments to be obeyed. The Pharisees had their favorite laws and the Sadducees had theirs. No matter which Law Jesus chose, He would alienate one of the two groups, thus providing a reason for one of them to accuse and seize Jesus (see Luke 19:47 and 20:20).
Jesus answered unhesitatingly by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind” (v.37). Whereas one can divide this commandment into three components of heart, soul and mind, the over-arching idea is that we love God with all we have. Our affections, our essence, our reasoning all revolve around and lead us toward loving God. This is the great and foremost commandment (v. 38).
Jesus reached deep into the Old Testament for His answer to the lawyer’s question. Loving God is not merely a New Testament concept. To love God is a thread that runs throughout the pages of Scripture from the Garden of Eden in the opening chapters of Genesis to the New Jerusalem in the closing verses of Revelation.
Recently I was on a beach in Eastern Europe with some evangelicals students from several countries. We were sharing our faith and I had to look hard to find an English speaker. After approaching nearly 30 people, I finally found a young man named Andre who spoke English; we talked about Jesus Christ. Andre had all the right answers regarding Jesus Christ. Yet what he lacked was critical. He had no heart knowledge, no category, no passion, for loving God.
Being a Christian is not a mere intellectual acknowledgment of God; for even the demons believe in God, James 2:19 reminds us. We are no longer strangers and aliens toward God (Ephesians 2:19), worshiping from afar. We do not pace aimlessly in the ante-chamber of God; yet through Jesus we are ushered into the very presence of God (Hebrews 4:16). As His adopted children we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). What a mighty God we serve!
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