Posts Tagged ‘ Greatest Commandment ’
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:37-39, ESV
Love God.
Love people.
The best way to do both is to fulfill the Great Commission: make disciples who love God.
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart
Psalm 119:2, ESV
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14, ESV
Loving others includes helping in times of need; sacrificing time, money, energy, and comfort; leading from sin to repentance and Christ; and merely being present and attentive.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:37-39, ESV
What are God’s expectations for all people?
Love God with every bit of yourself, an love other people as if they are yourself.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13, ESV
Hope springs from faith.
Faith springs from love.
Love springs from dedication and choice.
Choose love. Always.
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 13:10, ESV
The love of Christ in us is not merely sacrificial, it is selfless, considerate, patient, and truthful.
Yes, it can be difficult living all of this out. But, in many ways, it gets easier to understand and do as you love them.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37, ESV
Most of everything hinges on this: We must love God first, most, and always.
Without this, we are wasting our time and energy. Out of the love for God, we are able to love others and truly do good.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35 ESV
Israel knew we had to love God and love others, but Jesus came and basically said, “Keep going, guys! I want you to love each other as brothers and sisters!”
We may be a dysfunctional family, but good families stick together, care for each other, and defend each other.
I promise I am not simply choosing songs that John Piper and others have said they disagree with!
Why do I say that?
Well, in my last Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas I discussed Hillsong’s “What a Beautiful Name”, which included a response to John Piper’s response.
Similarly, today’s song has had a few negative responses, including one I listened to from John Piper about a month and a half ago.
The gist of the negative reactions is this: it sounds too much like David Dunn wants to go back to living like a child, without having to deal with the problems and pressures of adult life. It seems too much like he wants to go back to a simplistic life in which there is not much responsibility and we can fall back on a blind faith.
(Other than living a simple life as a simple man of God, of course!)
In the first verse, I am hearing less “I want to go back to an easy life when I believed just because” and more “I long for a faith as strong as I remember having.”
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.
Revelation 2:4-5a, ESV
When I listen to this, I am hearing a reminder to have faith like a child (Luke 18:17), not to return to living and thinking like a child (1 Corinthians 13:11).
In the second verse, I hear a reminder to not worry about what others have and do, but to simply love them … which sounds a lot like living out one of the greatest commandments!
I am reminded of the Karl Barth quote that he could summarize his work and understanding of theology in the simple lyric “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
What exactly does this mean?
We can rely on Word of God, the Bible and Jesus, to guide us in all truth and inform our faith. Therefore, David Dunn is reminding himself and us that we need to make sure we are digging deeply into the Bible and seeking Christ through devotional prayer (“Devotional” both in the sense of spending time in study and thought as well as out of a deep love).
And the chorus continues with letting this little light shine.
Obviously, this is the call to live out the faith given by God for His glory!
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16, ESV
… This song can be simply understood as a call to fall back on the greatest commandments:
When I was a kid
I was sure
I could run across the ocean
And I was gonna be an astronaut
When it was You and it was me
I had everything I needed
Faith could even move a mountain top
And then I grew up
And then I got older
Then my life got tough
And we grew apart
I wanna go back
To Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me
For the Bible tells me so
I wanna go back
To this little light
Gonna let it shine
Gonna let it shine
I wanna go back
When I was a kid
I didn’t care to keep up with the Jones’s
I was just happy that they lived next door
When it was You and it was me
I had everything I needed
Your hands were big enough to hold the world
And then I grew up
And then I got older
Then my life got tough
And we grew apart
I wanna go back
To Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me
For the Bible tells me so
I wanna go back
To this little light
Gonna let it shine
Gonna let it shine
I wanna go back
I wanna go back, back to
Yes, Jesus loves me
