"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5) The theme of the month of February is love, as we approach Valentine's Day. Who should we love the most? We don't want to leave out anyone. Our parents? our siblings? our husbands, wives, close friends? Who should we focus our main attention on, and show the most amount of love? To the nation of Israel, there was no question on who they were to love more than anyone else. And that applies to us as Christians today. We are to
"love God with all of our heart, soul, and strength."(v.5) We are to devote ourselves first and foremost to please Him, and being faithful to His will, for our lives. But in so doing, loving God first, with all of our being, will help us in our secondary relationships. John writes in his first letter:
"If someone says, "I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar, for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" (1 John 4:20) God is the orgin of love, because it was God who loved us first. We were created in love, redeemed in love, and we are sustained in love. If we are not loving the people around us, as we are commanded to (v.21) how can we really know God, and know what love is? God set the example for what unconditional love is all about. He expects us to follow that example, and love each other with a love that is so amazing, and so abundant. When we do, this world will never be the same! GP Photo by marcolm. Published on 07 February 2013
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