<< Devoted To God: Part 1 – Motivated By Love
In response to the question of which is the greatest commandment (Matt. 22) the first words that Jesus speaks points us back to the reason for our devotion in the first place. Understand who it is that you are devoted to and from this everything else will follow.
Love the lord your God…
The first word he uses points us back to God himself. In 1 John 4 it tells us that love comes from God because God is love. If we don’t know love then we can’t know God and vice versa – if we don’t know God then we don’t know love! We must get to know God, really and truly find relationship with him, in order that we may be able to love. The only way that we can love is to know God. As we learn who God is, we learn who love is, we experience love for ourselves and we are able to love him (and others) fully. If we do not have love, we have nothing (1 Corinthians 13).
Love the Lord your God…
God is Lord. In order for us to truly be able to love God we must recognise that He is Lord over all. We need to know the enormity of who God is and the magnitude of the love and the power that he is.
In Colossians 1 it tells us that God created everything in the heavens and on earth. He made the things we can see – the birds, trees, rivers, oceans, mountains, sun, moon, stars – and the things we can’t see – the spiritual realm, angels, emotions, thoughts, the wind! Everything we know and everything we have yet to discover was made by him – the beauty, the creativity, the wonder. His love displayed throughout creation.
Psalm 136 tells us to give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles, who made the heavens so skilfully, who placed the earth among the waters. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else did and he holds all of creation together. He is the beginning, supreme ruler over everything, so he must be first in everything. What an incredible God!
Once we begin to grasp the authority that God has, just how big and mighty and wonderful he is, we cannot help but to begin to stand in awe of him, to want to know more about him, to worship him, to love him.
Love the Lord your God…
And as if that isn’t enough of a reason to devote ourselves to him, Jesus reminds us that he is our God. We must recognise that God isn’t just the creator and ruler over everything. He isn’t a distant God who is only concerned with the bigger picture, the ultimate plan, human kind as a whole. He is your God. Our God. He is concerned with us. He is for us. He is for you, personally, intimately. He is utterly devoted to you as an individual.
Read Psalm 139. He knows everything about us, every time we sit down or stand up. He knows every single one of our thoughts even when we are far away from him. Even when we don’t want him to. He sees us when we are out and about and when we rest at home. He knows everything that we do, even before we do it. Even before we want to do it! He knows what we are going to say before we say it. He goes before us and stands behind us, backing us up, blessing us as we go, even though we don’t always understand or see it at the time. Because he is wonderful and he loves us deeply. He loves us more than we could ever imagine. And he is longing for us to love him deeply too, to want to get to know him personally.
His thoughts are so precious about you. He loves you. He is for you. And his plans for you are magnificent.
Love. The Lord. Your God.
Thank you that you are love. That you are Lord. That you are my God.
Show me more of that love, of who you are, so that I am more able to love you and others better.
You are mighty and wonderful and I am in awe of you. I want to know you more. I worship you. I love you.
Thank you that your thoughts are so precious about me. That you are for me. And that your plans for me are magnificent.
Let my life glorify and honour you as my devotion increases.
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