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 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

Questioned about the greatest commandment in the Jewish law, Jesus, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5, told one of the Pharisees that the greatest commandment was to love God with all of one’s being and might. That commandment is easily stated, but how do we love the LORD with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength? Jesus provided that answer on how to keep the supreme commandment, simply saying to His disciples in John 15:14, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

To obey God reflects our love for Him and that He is our highest priority. Trusting obedience is the only way that we show the world that we love the LORD our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And when we truly put our faith in Christ and yield our hearts to Him, the Holy Spirit enables God’s love to flow through us to other people and gives us a genuine desire to keep the second great commandment like unto the first: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) When we love God above all and love each other, we keep the great commandments that Jesus said fulfill the law.



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