… what you would have them do to you…
Summary: Figuring out why God wants us to love him above all else isn’t hard but it does require some humility.
“God’s will” isn’t complicated.
John’s writings in the New Testament summarize it nicely. He uses the word “love” more than any other New Testament writer. No single word better sums up God’s will.
Love.
Love God above all else. Put God first in your life. Do what God wants us to do. Then love others as you love yourself.
Why does God tell us to love him with all our heart and soul and mind? (Matt 22:37)
It is kind of sad that he has to mention it at all. He is telling us to do what we should be doing without thought or prompting. We should be recognizing our God for who he is; the source of our life and existence.
He doesn’t tell us to love him because he can’t live without us. He doesn’t need our love, but he does want it.
He doesn’t want it because it feeds his ego. He wants it because we need it.
I saw Mike Tyson on television talking about the impact knowing God had made on his life. He was asked about his famous temper. He said, “When I think I am somebody, I am easily offended. But when I realize I am nobody, then nothing bothers me.”
The same is true for you and me.
When we are somebody important in our own eyes, nothing ever goes right. We find ourselves constantly frustrated and angry because the rest of the world is not paying enough attention to what we want.
When we put God first, above all else, two things happen. One is that we are acknowledging the proper order of creation. Secondly, we realize that compared to God, we are not that important. We also realize that everyone else is in the same boat as we are. Before God, no one is any more important than anyone else.
When God’s will is done, life makes sense. We see other people, not as a threat, but as another one of God’s creations. When our neighbor is in trouble, we want to help them the same way we would like to be helped if we were in trouble.
Application: You know… Love God above all else and your neighbor as yourself. 🙂
Food for Thought: What else is different for a person when we move from putting ourselves first to putting God first?
What else is different for a person when we move from putting ourselves first to putting God first?
One thing could be a less stressful life, or less stressful over worldly things Matthew 6:34. Knowing what’s important and what you can do to love God isn’t just about your relationship with Him. Sometimes the biggest thing you can do to love God is to share Him, to honor Him in your life with others, to build up the relationships of another one of God’s creations. So in short what they talk about is different. Love is different to them .
“If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love……..
Thanks for helping build up my relationship with our God Jeff. I liked the Mike Tyson quote.
Tim,
Watching you and others like you come to know God in a deeper way is incredibly encouraging to me. I am honored to be a small part of your journey.
I saw that same Mike Tyson interview – very interesting!
I think one other thing that changes when we focus on God rather than ourselves is our priorities. When we seek God’s agenda rather than our own, things align to His will rather than our own. This affects how we spend our time and where we place our energy. It also leads to a much more abundant, meaningful life. John 10: 11.
Thanks, Rich!
Exactly!
12-14-2022, What else is different for a person when we move from putting ourselves first to putting God first?
We become a totally new being.
2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God.”
Our lives, our vision, priorities, desires and actions begin changing.
Our bible tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” Proverbs 3:5-6.
This is a lifelong process and we receive His peace in our hearts as we give ourselves to Him, allowing Him to serve all those around us.
Thanks, Ron.
I agree. There is a process of re-construction that happens as God works in our lives. This can be a slow process if we drag our feet and resist, or it can be a fast process if we embrace the change as God leads.
What else is different for a person when we move from putting ourselves first to putting God first?
I wholeheartedly agree that putting God first reprioritizes things in your life, and can bring less stress and more contentment. I would like to add that putting God first in your life also means that God enriches your life, that there is an adding to, as well as a taking away.
I recently went on a vacation where the meals were included in a buffet-style set up. Instead of going and getting my food, sitting down and thanking God, I sat down, thanked God, and asked Him to guide me on what I should eat. I had some great meals. Modest, tasty, and some of them I don’t think I will ever get to eat again because I was putting things together that I neither knew what they were or how they were “supposed” to be used. It was a blessing to me.
Chris,
You’ve given us an interesting analogy for the power of God’s Word and Spirit in our lives. We never know what we are going to get, we don’t know what we have to give up, either, until the Lord shows us.