To Love Him Is More

The Scribe’s Question and Jesus’ Answer A scribe asked Jesus, “Which is the first commandment of all?” (Mark 12:28). Jesus responded: The first commandment: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:29-30). The second commandment: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). The scribe agreed, stating that loving God with all one’s being and loving one’s neighbor as oneself is “more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33). Jesus affirmed the scribe’s understanding, saying, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). The central thought: To love Him is more. The Primacy of Love Love covers a multitude of sins. Perfect love casts out fear. God is love. Loving Christ is more than any earthly love. More than the love between spouses. More than the love between parents and children. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” The love Christ has for people is an agape love, unconditional and regardless of actions. Love is more important than service or church attendance. Service is a result of love, not the other way around. Church attendance represents love for God. Temptations and Questions Pharisees tempted Jesus with questions about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus responded by saying, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection, questioned Jesus about marriage in heaven. Jesus clarified that there is no marriage in heaven. The scribe listened to these exchanges and perceived that Jesus answered well. The scribe asked which is the first commandment of all. Jesus’ answer was more than just reciting the Ten Commandments. The Greatest Commandment Jesus referred to Deuteronomy 6, stating that the first commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. If one truly loves God, the other commandments will follow. The second commandment, from Leviticus 19, is to love your neighbor as yourself. All the laws and prophets hang on these two commandments. God’s commandments are rooted in the understanding that people must first love God to observe them. If one can love like God loves, it will transform everything they think, do, and say. 1 John 4:7-21: Love’s Source and Manifestation “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7). If you don’t have the love of God in you, you’re not going to get it right. Love must motivate everything we do. “He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). Grace is the manifestation of God’s love. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). Jesus’ death on the cross was an act of love for humanity. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:11). “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). The love of God was placed in people when they were born again. If the Holy Spirit is in you, then you have the love of God in you. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20). “And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4:21). The love of God should motivate us to love our neighbor, friend, and even our enemy. Self-Evaluation and Repentance Evaluate whether the love of God is motivating your actions. If something has replaced the love of God, there is a problem. Some have lost their first love and need to repent and return to it. Make certain that love is what motivates us as individuals and as a church. If you need Him today, don’t wait; make it right with God right now.