First Fruits of Zion The Commandment of Loving God Seek to please God in all that we do! Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4) In Jewish liturgy, Deuteronomy 6:4–9 is called “The Shema.” Shema (שמע) is the imperative to listen. “Shema O Israel,” Deuteronomy 6:4 says. Moses is telling Israel, “Listen up! The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” The Master regarded the Shema as the greatest and foremost commandment of the Torah. A sage once asked him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” (Mark 12:28) He answered with the words of Deuteronomy 6:4–5: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:29–30) Why does Yeshua teach that to love the LORD is the greatest commandment? Because genuine love for God leads us to fulfill all the commandments. If we truly love God, we will seek to please Him in all that we do. We will keep His commandments out of a desire to demonstrate our love for Him. It is foremost because it must come first. If we try to serve God merely out of fear or out of a desire for reward or to earn salvation, our service is not genuine. Just as a husband wants His wife to love Him, so too the Father desires His children to serve Him out of love. Imagine being married to a person that does not love you. He or she may be faithful and even compliantly obedient, but without love, the relationship would feel empty. Conversely, imagine being married to someone who claims to love you but does not respect you or show you any fidelity. Such love would only be a sham. That is why love must come first. Our first obligation to God, before any other commandment, is to love Him. More than just a feeling, love for God results in obedience to His commandments, the Torah: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3) If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20) Yeshua demonstrated His love for the Father by living a life of total obedience to Him. Yeshua is loved by the Father, and He returned that love in the form of perfect submission. God demonstrated His love for us by sending us His Son, whom He loved.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 13:00:47 +0000
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