Sep 23 – A Heart That Loves!

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Although the Lord gave the people of Israel the Ten Commandments, He placed loving the Lord as the foremost and greatest commandment. We are to love the Lord, and we are also to love our neighbour. Indeed, Christianity is the way of love. It is not merely a faith in which we experience the love of God; it is a life in which we continually express that love to God and to others.

Do not stop merely with receiving the love of the Lord. Love Him in return with an overflowing love and honour Him. Praise Him joyfully and rejoice in Him. Just as deep calls unto deep, the heart of the Lord longs for your love and fellowship.

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:8). Some, through misunderstanding, may say, “Love is God.” But love itself cannot be God. Love is one of the supreme attributes of God. The love of Calvary came searching for you as sacrificial love. Because of that love, the Lord willingly endured the suffering of the cross so that He might grant you forgiveness of sins, deliverance and blessing.

How can you fail to love the One who gave Himself for you and poured out even the last drop of His blood on your behalf?

A Christian in whom the love of God is absent cannot truly reflect the character of Christ. That is why the Apostle Paul devoted an entire chapter to the subject of love—1 Corinthians 13.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1)

The Lord may give some people spiritual gifts and great spiritual power, and may perform mighty works through them. Yet, when they become proud and self-exalting, they may fail to remain in their first love and eventually fall away.

The Lord desires from us our first love and our wholehearted love. That is why He asked Peter: “So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs.’” (John 21:15)

How, then, can we claim to love Christ while failing to love Him sincerely from the depths of our hearts? Put away selfish love. Reject hypocritical and pretentious love. Determine to love the Lord with a sincere and pure heart, without deceit or hypocrisy.

Scripture declares: “And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:5–6)

Dear children of God, let the love of Christ fill your heart. Love Him not merely with your words, but with your whole life. Let your love be seen in your obedience, your worship, your relationships, your sacrifices and your service.

Verse for further meditation: “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)