Have you ever wondered what God (Jehovah) requires of you? There is much debate among even believers about what God requires of His people. We should look to His word for the answer. God has provided in scripture several summaries to help us get our minds around it. However, in order to properly follow it we must study and pray for God’s help and choose to change our ways and follow His. It is a journey of a lifetime and it is a joy and not a burden to those who love God.
36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He [Jesus] 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 foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Loving God and loving people. Simple sounding summary but it is often misunderstood because what our society today defines as love is different than what God defines as love. The world tells us that to love someone is to accept them unconditionally as they are… this is not loving God or loving people. Do I show love to my children by letting them do or believe whatever they want? or do I show love to them by instructing and guiding them in truth? I tell my children not to touch a hot stove… I rebuke them and set guidelines for them to steer them in the right way. I show my love for them by guiding and instructing them. They show their love for me by obeying, not by disregarding what I say and doing what they think is right… even when they do not fully understand why I give certain boundaries.
God clearly, and repeatedly, emphasizes obedience to His ways as the answer to “how to love God”. Our motivation is love of God and love of people, but how we demonstrate this through our actions and attitudes is by obeying God’s word.
15“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
23Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
God provides another summary of what He requires of us in Deuteronomy 10.
12“Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?
Again we see similar instruction from God. Fear (e.g. respect, revere) God. Walk in His ways and love Him. Do not walk in your own ways or the ways of the world. Serve God with all your heart and soul… not just part of it. Keep His commandments and statutes… for your own good!
Many try to avoid acknowledging the need to obey all God’s commands and statutes as how they should be showing love to God. Instead they want to just call on His name and “have positive thoughts and feelings about Him”. God is displeased by this approach. God wants us to show love by obeying what He has instructed us to do. The first step to doing that is to humbly admit we do not have it all figured out… our society around us and even our church does not have it all figured out. We must pray for His help and study scripture consistently to better understand and apply His instructions to our lives to truly show our love for Him.
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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.