Thou Shalt Love The Lord Thy God
This paper will be devoted to a study of the subject man's love for God. In this study we shall learn the requirements of love for God. Love here as elsewhere is more than sentiment. Mere emotion or feeling does not measure up to the requirements of love — lip service is insufficient.
In Luke 10:25-28 we have some teaching of our Lord on the subject "And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and made trial of him saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? and he said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself, And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do and thou shalt live."
Here we have a question presented to the Lord by a lawyer. The question is, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Note that the question has to do with the human effort required to inherit eternal life. The one raising the question did not think that he could have eternal life in possession in this life as is evidenced by his question. He wanted to know what he could do to inherit eternal life. That the Lord did not believe nor teach that one can have eternal life in possession is evident from several considerations. He did not correct the lawyer on this point, but caused him to answer his own question and when the lawyer had answered his own question Christ endorsed his answer by saying, "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." Thus we learn that man must do something to live — that eternal life is had in prospect, that is, it is a thing to be inherited — and that love is doing.
The first part of the answer will serve as our text for this time. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength and with all thy mind." We are to love God with all the faculties of our being, with all our heart, which includes the emotions, with all our soul, which takes in all the spiritual faculties, with all our strength, the energy of our being, with all our mind, this involves the intellectual faculties. All the powers of our being are to be concentrated in love for God. But suppose we be a bit more specific. We are not only required to love God with our heart, soul, and mind but with our 'strength. How could we love God with our strength other than by exercising that strength in doing His will? That, my friends, is human effort.
But another passage on the subject of man's love for God. Romans 8:28, "And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose." "Them that are called according to his purpose" are here shown to be "them that love God." This clearly establishes that man has a part in being called, for them that love God are the ones called according to his purpose. Note that it is "them that love God," not, "them that God loves." If "them that are called" included all that God loved, then all men would be in that number for God loved the world. The number of them called according to God's purpose is limited to them that love God. We are called through the gospel. Second Thessalonians 2:14, "Whereunto he called you through our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus we see that God does not arbitrarily and irresistibly call any individual but rather calls all through the gospel. Those who by obedience to the gospel accept this call constitute the "them that are called according to his purpose." But look at Romans 8:28 again to be fully assured that "them that love God" and "them that are called according to his purpose" are one and the same class. "And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose." Well, as "them that love God" and "them that are called according to his purpose" are the same class, the same ones, just described by different terms, we raise the question, Who is it that loves God? What is the gauge by which we can determine if we love God? Do you love God? How do you know? This is a vital thing for we have learned that if you do not love God you are not among "them called according to his purpose."
Here is the divine test. First John 6:3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." Are you keeping the commandments of God or are you railing against keeping His commandments? The course of love is the keeping of God's commandments. My friends, the word is so clear on this point that you cannot miss it, if you love the truth. Some keep God's commandments — John's says "this is the love of God." Others sneer and rail at God's commandments — that is not the love of God. But another statement of the inspired scripture on this point. John 14:21, "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself unto him." Who is it that Christ here says loves him? "Ile that hath my commandments and keepeth them." But we have learned that "them called according to his purpose" is them that love God. Christ has made it clear that he that hath his commandments and keepeth them is the one that loves him. It follows that any who do not keep his commandments do not love him and hence are not among "them called according to his purpose." Christ through his apostles has commanded you to believe and be baptized. (Mark 16:15, 16.) Have you kept this, his commandment? Remember that the divine test of love is "that we keep his commandments."
The need of concentrated love for God is taught in 1 John 2:1547 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." It is impossible to love the world and the Father at the same time. As love for the world diminishes, love for the Father increases. As love for the world grows, love for the Father decreases.
This passage assists us in determining if we love God. John writes here that "if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." But before applying this principle to ourselves, we need to determine what is included in the term "world" here. We recall that God loved the world, does world in both cases include the same thing? Evidently not, for that would have God loving that which he forbids His children to love. Mankind is the "world" that God loves. What then is the "world" that we are not to love. The definition of the word as used in this context appears in the next verse. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life is not of the Father but is of the world." World here includes the lust of the flesh and of the eyes and the vainglory of life. One cannot love God while devoting himself to satisfying the cravings of the flesh. Even the legitimate needs of the flesh cannot be allowed to take precedence over the spirit for "man shall not live by bread alone." Satan presents alluring sights to the eyes, pictures of people of "distinction" and such in appealing to the lust of the eyes. He shows man that which is a delight to the eyes but never pulls the curtain for man to see the degradation and ruin that awaits the one who is allured by the lust of the eyes. Pride of life, worldly ambition to be thought of as some great one, chokes out love for God. Lust, inordinate desires do not accompany love for God, such must be refused. Even legitimate desires and ambitions must be restrained and directed.
But there is another lesson in this that we should learn. The 17th verse states that "the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." Remember that the apostle has written in the verses just preceding this one that the love of the world in ones' life proves the absence of the love of the Father. He places the love of God on one hand and the love of the world on the other hand. Now in this 17th verse he contrasts the destiny of the two classes. On one side the destiny of that class which loves the world is expressed in these words — "The world passeth away and the lusts thereof." On the other side the destiny of the ones who love the Father is described in these words. "But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." Doing the will of God is the opposite of loving the world. To do the will of God is to love God. Do you love the Lord your God?