LOVE FROM THE HEART (1)

“You shall LOVE the Lord your God with all your HEARTS, with all your soul, and with all your mind’” – Matthew 22:37b

The Believer’s Victory in Life cannot be divorced from LOVE from the HEART: “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall LOVE the Lord your God with all your HEART, with all your soul, and with all your mind’” (Mt.22:37). The Lord Jesus had silenced the Sadducees debate about the resurrection (vv.23-33). Next was the Scribes’ Question about the First Commandment (vv.34-40). Jesus replied that we’re meant to love God primarily with all of our heart, and secondarily with our soul and mind. Love from the heart is the very heart of the matter. Love for God is the first and greatest commandment, the record of which is found in three of the Gospels (Mt.22:37-38; Mk.12:29-30,33; Lk.10:27). To love God with our heart means to be passionately in love with God. Loving God is to believe the right things, do the right things, and love in action.

The Lord Jesus was quoting a key passage from the Old Testament: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Dt.10:12). The Old Testament is largely written in Hebrew and the New Testament is predominantly written in Greek. So Jesus quoted a Hebrew statement in Greek. By exaamining these, we are able to get a richer and deeper insight about the word “love” and what it means. The Love that Jesus speaks of is both a Choice (aheb in Hebrew) and a Commitment (agape in Greek).

Love is a choice: a devoted act of the heart, mind and will. It is the determined care for the welfare of something or someone. Love can include strong emotion, but it is a clear and firm decision to be committed toward someone. This virtue recognizes and chooses to follow that which is righteous, noble, and true, regardless of what our feelings in a matter might be or the consequences. Love is a decision that we make. In our relationship with God we make a choice and a decision, to love Him or not. We make a choice to obey Him or not. We make a decision to listen to Him or not. We make a choice to do what He says or not, to care about what He cares about or not. Love is a choice and we demonstrate our love for God or lack of it in the choices and decisions we make every day.

Love is a commitment: While aheb emphasizes the choice that love makes; agape emphasizes the commitment that love makes. Agape love is the intelligent, purposeful, and committed love that is an act of the will. This committed love is an all-in type of love. There is no going back. Jesus expressed this love toward the Father when He said, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Lk.22:42b). He committed Himself to the cross and the Father’s plan. At the same time the Heavenly Father was demonstrating His commitment and love to us: “But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinner, Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8).

Jesus also pinpoints the “Who” or Focus of our Love – “the Lord your God”; and the “How” – with the whole HEART, soul, and mind. There is no ambiguity as to the identity of this God. “Lord” means Master or Sovereign. Our love should identify Him as our Master, Supreme Authority and Rule. One who loves the Lord obeys Him: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jh.15:15). The name “God” highlights everything about Him. We are in love with the God of the universe; our Creator; He Who is perfectly holy, absolutely faithful, and incredibly loving. He is our Counsellor, Guide, Provider, Shelter, Rock, and Fortress. He is our all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present heavenly Father. Jesus calls Him, £the Lord your God”. That’s how personally related He is to each of us!