How to Love, Part 2: Loving God First
When I went to seminary, I met a lady who loved God more than anyone else I had ever personally known. She honored God’s Word, was led by God’s Spirit, and lived the life I saw written in the New Testament. Then I married her. And we’ve been pastoring together ever since.
Matthew 22:37–39 reiterates Old Testament commands and says, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Because Kim loved God so much, she has loved people with a self-abandoned intensity that sometimes scared me. We love other people best, in ways we would not do otherwise, when we first and primarily love God—not the other way around.
Yet I increasingly see Christians reversing the two commandments. They may get caught up in political agendas, or they may jump on what’s popular and publicly virtuous, or they’re good-hearted and just want to be nice to people. But they forget who they are and unwittingly get caught up in someone else’s program.
They end up loving people first and loving God second. It may be hard to tell the difference superficially, but if we invert the commands and love people first, that love invariably gets pulled away from God, the source of love, and goes any number of misdirections. It takes its definition and its intent from secular social voices, causes, and politics. And we are already seeing that these are becoming increasingly anti-Christian.
I empathize, even agree, with people who dislike Christians who behave badly. If we claim to love God, we are obligated to love him and others on his terms and in his ways, not ours. And no matter what side of an issue we take, we cannot ignore or rewrite parts of the Bible to suit ourselves.
Despite those poor behaviors, worldwide history of Christianity across two thousand years also shows us that genuinely loving God first enables us to love our neighbor in amazing ways.
I hope you’ll join me in keeping the two commands in good functioning order.
Photo credit: Parun Patro | rgbstock.com
It’s funny I asked God to “Please help love again”, and here I am. I am hesitant to order the Power Prayer book because I rarely think about that for other things..but I believe I will purchase it. I find myself wanting to love again but wondering who to love first and how, and you just answered that for me, learn to love God first and running from love from others and loving others won’t be so easy.:) Be blessed.
Hi Pastor Pete,
How do we know how to love God? By knowing and understanding the law, especially the Ten Commandments, and then obeying them. People think they love God just by loving others but there is much more to the equation than that. We need to know what God expects from us.
Many blessings.