Purpose to Love: The Greatest Commandment

One of the most unromantic things I've ever heard in a marriage seminar was in a session about husbands being commanded to love their wives. The speaker spent way too much time on the word 'commanded'. His point was that God pretty much ordered men to love their wives, even if they didn't feel like it. He stressed that love isn't an emotion, but a series of acts of obedience. Boy, did we women leave there feeling cherished and special. Blech.

As I've grown older, I've taken a different look at this topic. No, I still see this man's perspective as a bit oh, underwhelming? Perhaps his wasn't the gift of exhortation? Nonetheless, I think there is a bit of truth of being commanded to love. After all there is that incident in Matthew 22 where the Pharisees and the Sadducees come to Jesus bringing questions of the law to Jesus hoping to trip Him up. He gives them what is the greatest commandment: The first. To love God. Not just to love Him, but to love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind. 

Why did God feel it was necessary to make that not only a commandment, but the very first one? I personally think that if you look at the idols and gods of the people of that time, you will find that they were not exactly ones that evoked warm fuzzies, if you will. Rather they were ones that the people feared wrath and retribution from if they did not perform exactly the rites and rituals required. 

God, however, wanted to change all of that. He desired for His people to know that he was a real Person, a loving, caring personal God who wanted a relationship with them. He set out on a course throughout history to change their image of who He was and what He was like. Starting with the first commandment. Love me. With all your heart, soul and mind.

Our heart, where our emotions begin. Our soul, that is the core of who we are, our eternal being. Our mind, that is our intellect, that is what we know to be true.

Step back and think about this. That full and compete love requires a great deal of trust. Who else in your life would you love that fully? We as humans tend to go a bit more slowly into that committed of a relationship. Well, if we want it to have any sort of sticking power we do. But God says trust me, love me, and then get to know me. We want to know before we trust, then we can love. God says love me first, before anything else. 

Now, why? Why would we do that? It goes against our better judgment as humans. In an age of verify then commit, we are being told to trust first. I John 4:19 says "We love Him because He first loved us." We love in response to His love for us. When a person smiles at us, our first inclination is to smile back. When a child loves you, its a simple response to return that love. God loved us first, and asks for our love back. 

It's our first and most simple purpose. Love God. With our emotion, our eternal soul, and with our minds. As we grow to know more and more about Him, as we walk and experience life with Him, as He proves Himself over and over again to us, that love grows.

Love can be intimidating. That is why so many people today have what is called commitment phobia. Loving someone gives them power. It's risky. You have to really trust someone to give them that much access into your heart. We don't trust people we don't know. Trust must have a foundation. So God says, "Love me. First." But is there anyone more trustworthy?  Search His word to try and discover if there is anyone more trustworthy than God. Has He made a promise He did not keep? We can search to find out. There isn't one. And never will be. But it's okay to go searching...there are wonderful things in His word that will be discovered on the search.