"But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?' 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. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.'" (Matthew 22:34-40)
So this is the greatest commandment-to love the Lord and to love your neighbor as yourself. Sounds simple enough right? Well some say this means that all you have to do is love God, nothing else. Some say that love is enough, so you don't have to follow any commandments or rules. They may even say that as long as you love God, you can continue to sin and be forgiven. Is this true? Is love all God requires?
Let's take a deeper look at this verse;
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul andwith all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
When you look closely at the highlighted words, you see there's a deeper meaning in Jesus' answer. Jesus didn't merely tell us to love God, but He explained that you must love God with all your heart (worship in love), all your soul (worship in spirit), and all your mind (worship in truth).
When we accept and receive Christ, we first accept Him into our hearts, we then receive the promised Holy Spirit (John 14:26), and the final step is reading and living by the Word of God-the word of truth (John 17:17), which is how we worship with our minds.
The Greatest Commandment in a Nutshell:
1. Worship with all your heart: "For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:10)
2. Worship with all your soul: "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him." (John 4:23)
3. Worship with all your mind: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)
And just as equally important, "And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." When you love God the way described above, and love your neighbor as yourself, you will automatically obey the entire law. You will not put other "gods" before the true God, because you love Him! You will not steal from your neighbor, because you love them! This is why Jesus said, "On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
In this one paragraph Jesus revealed exactly how we are able to keep all of the 10 commandments! Without these 3 components, we cannot obey God. Not because we don't want to, but because we just don't have the power to do it! But with power through the Holy Spirit, love, and meditation on God's Word, we can become the "true worshipers" in which God so eagerly seeks...
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