The Great Commandment

[Bob Estey]

[37] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
[38] This is the great and first commandment. Matthew 22:37-38 RSV

So how does one “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind”?

 

[Randy Kluth]

If we view this as a mandate to obey God with sinless perfection, it becomes an impossible burden. And yet, Jesus said that his burden was "light."

So what is Jesus really asking of us? He's setting a high bar so that we constantly correct ourselves when we find ourselves turning away from following the Lord to capitulating to selfishness. One of the elements of this that I enjoyed in my work life was in "going the 2nd mile," ie working even when nobody was watching, just to show God that I owe Him my "strength," and not just the basic job. It's a display of effort, and not just to do the minimal requirement.

Can you see loving your wife or your children by doing the minimum? It's the special occasions that make the marriage and the family.

We all fall short, but it's good to aspire to this, so that we do at least the minimum necessary to make our families happy, and to show God we truly love Him and are thankful for His being in our lives.

 

[marks]

[37] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
[38] This is the great and first commandment. Matthew 22:37-38 RSV

So how does one “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind”?

What does it mean to love God?

Much love!

 

[Bob Estey]

What does it mean to love God?

Much love!

I think there are at least two components to loving God. First, we need to be in constant prayer, as Paul instructed (1 Thessalonians 5:17). And I believe we should resist the temptation to sin (John 14:15, among others. Said another way: Obey the Lord).

 

[marks]

I think there are at least two components to loving God. First, we need to be in constant prayer, as Paul instructed (1 Thessalonians 5:17). And I believe we should resist the temptation to sin (John 14:15, among others. Said another way: Obey the Lord).

I think those are more things we do when we love God, but are not that love itself.

For me to define love for God is a very difficult thing. I think it involves my desire to know Him and be close to Him. It's partly being awestruck with His majesty and power. I think it includes my desire to be like Him, and to serve Him well. I want to be pleasing to Him because He deserves that from me. There is no other place I want to be than with Him. I want to free myself of every yucky thing so I'm not dragging filth into His presence, because He is beautiful, and those things are ugly.

Much love!

 

[Bob Estey]

I think those are more things we do when we love God, but are not that love itself.

For me to define love for God is a very difficult thing. I think it involves my desire to know Him and be close to Him. It's partly being awestruck with His majesty and power. I think it includes my desire to be like Him, and to serve Him well. I want to be pleasing to Him because He deserves that from me. There is no other place I want to be than with Him. I want to free myself of every yucky thing so I'm not dragging filth into His presence, because He is beautiful, and those things are ugly.

Much love!

It might raise this question: Is love how we feel about people, or is love about how we treat people?

 

[Bob Estey]

If we view this as a mandate to obey God with sinless perfection, it becomes an impossible burden. And yet, Jesus said that his burden was "light."

So what is Jesus really asking of us? He's setting a high bar so that we constantly correct ourselves when we find ourselves turning away from following the Lord to capitulating to selfishness. One of the elements of this that I enjoyed in my work life was in "going the 2nd mile," ie working even when nobody was watching, just to show God that I owe Him my "strength," and not just the basic job. It's a display of effort, and not just to do the minimal requirement.

Can you see loving your wife or your children by doing the minimum? It's the special occasions that make the marriage and the family.

We all fall short, but it's good to aspire to this, so that we do at least the minimum necessary to make our families happy, and to show God we truly love Him and are thankful for His being in our lives.

I can't figure out why people think it's impossible to be perfect. Jesus told us we needed to be just that. There are a handful of commandments to obey, and they aren't always easy, but when you sin, you repent and try harder.

 

[marks]

It might raise this question: Is love how we feel about people, or is love about how we treat people?

I think feelings follow thoughts and choices and values. We may have this idea that feelings drive us, but I think our choices drive us, and our feelings reflections of our choices and perceptions.

Much love!

 

[Bob Estey]

I think feelings follow thoughts and choices and values. We may have this idea that feelings drive us, but I think our choices drive us, and our feelings reflections of our choices and perceptions.

Much love!

But I also think that you might dislike a person intensely, and have good reason to, but you are still required to treat that person with love. Paul told us that treating our enemies with love was like pouring hot coals on them (Romans 12:20).

 

[marks]

But I also think that you might dislike a person intensely, and have good reason to, but you are still required to treat that person with love. Paul told us that treating our enemies with love was like pouring hot coals on them (Romans 12:20).

I think that dislike is a fleshy thing, to be ignored/denied on that basis. We choose to care for others regardless of our fleshy feelings.

Much love!

 

[Ziggy]

[37] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
[38] This is the great and first commandment. Matthew 22:37-38 RSV

So how does one “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind”?

HUGS!

 

[Lifelong_sinner]

I can't figure out why people think it's impossible to be perfect. Jesus told us we needed to be just that. There are a handful of commandments to obey, and they aren't always easy, but when you sin, you repent and try harder.

i cant figure out why ANYONE thinks they could be perfect. Clearly yall aint ever been shown just how totally depraved you are.

 

[Bob Estey]

I think that dislike is a fleshy thing, to be ignored/denied on that basis. We choose to care for others regardless of our fleshy feelings.

Much love!

It's hard to like a guy who comes up to your door every morning and kicks you in the shin.

 

[Bob Estey]

HUGS!

Thanks.

 

[Bob Estey]

i cant figure out why ANYONE thinks they could be perfect. Clearly yall aint ever been shown just how totally depraved you are.

Jesus said we have to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. It must be possible, then. Obey a few commandments. We slip, we fall, we get back up, and we try harder.

 

[Lifelong_sinner]

Jesus said we have to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. It must be possible, then. Obey a few commandments. We slip, we fall, we get back up, and we try harder.

clearly, you dont get it. If you were perfect, you wouldnt need to repent. You sin daily.

 

[Randy Kluth]

I can't figure out why people think it's impossible to be perfect. Jesus told us we needed to be just that. There are a handful of commandments to obey, and they aren't always easy, but when you sin, you repent and try harder.

I can't figure out why people think it's possible to be perfect? Only Jesus was perfect. That indicates every one else is imperfect. Only legalists demand perfection, because legalists demand conformity to their religious ideas, since it only requires an *external observance,* and not true perfection. It is then thought that by following somebody's idea of perfection that perfection is accomplished by external observance on its own merits.

Clearly, that is not true. Anybody can observe the Sabbath Day. That can be done by a murderer or by an adulterer. External observances do not accomplish perfection. (Not that we are even under a Sabbath Law. That Law was given before final redemption was won through Christ, and only for the Jews.)

So who's standard are you going to require? Are you going to require that Christians *never* hate, *never* have lust, *never* be covetous, or *never* even be argumentative or demeaning? Obviously, the objective is to *try* to be all good things.

But the expectation is that we *overcome* our base natures by a long regular process of choosing to abandon our temptations to selfishness in order to draw upon Christ's strength in our weakness. That requires an admission of our weakness, of our imperfection. And it is an admission that we must rely on Christ regularly for our spiritual cleansing.

 

[Bob Estey]

clearly, you dont get it. If you were perfect, you wouldnt need to repent. You sin daily.

I sin daily?

 

[Bob Estey]

I can't figure out why people think it's possible to be perfect? Only Jesus was perfect. That indicates every one else is imperfect. Only legalists demand perfection, because legalists demand conformity to their religious ideas, since it only requires an *external observance,* and not true perfection. It is then thought that by following somebody's idea of perfection that perfection is accomplished by external observance on its own merits.

Clearly, that is not true. Anybody can observe the Sabbath Day. That can be done by a murderer or by an adulterer. External observances do not accomplish perfection. (Not that we are even under a Sabbath Law. That Law was given before final redemption was won through Christ, and only for the Jews.)

So who's standard are you going to require? Are you going to require that Christians *never* hate, *never* have lust, *never* be covetous, or *never* even be argumentative or demeaning? Obviously, the objective is to *try* to be all good things.

But the expectation is that we *overcome* our base natures by a long regular process of choosing to abandon our temptations to selfishness in order to draw upon Christ's strength in our weakness. That requires an admission of our weakness, of our imperfection. And it is an admission that we must rely on Christ regularly for our spiritual cleansing.

What's so hard about being perfect? We have a few commandments to obey. It isn't always easy doing so, but if we do sin, we repent and try harder.

 

[Bob Estey]

clearly, you dont get it. If you were perfect, you wouldnt need to repent. You sin daily.

I sin daily?

The commandments aren't that difficult to follow. I slip once in a while, but why would I, or any other Christian, sin daily?