Thursday, January 15, 2026

            The Bible says that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God.  This command stands at the top of any list.  Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).  David wrote in Psalm 116:1, “I love the Lord for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy.”  The Bible clearly teaches us to love the Lord.  But what does that mean?  How do we express our love for the Lord?  Do we show the Lord our love for Him the same way that we would love another person?  There are some practical ways that we can live out this command to love the Lord.
            First, we must decide to love the Lord and keep this command.  Our love for Him is only because He first loved us.  No one ever loves God first.  Our love is in response to the love that He has already expressed to us—in giving us life, in forgiving us, in saving us and in giving us new life in Christ.  1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.”  Our love for God is not necessarily driven by emotions or sentimentalism as our love for other people can be.  We love God because we understand who He is and what He has done for us and continues to do for us each day.  We decide that God is to be loved and cherished with every part and cell of who we are.
            Second, we show love for God when we read His Word.  We can spend time with Him as we spend time in His Word—reading and reflecting upon what the Bible means to us.  Psalm 119:103 says, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.”  We are to love God by loving His Word. Therefore, it is our duty to read Scripture and to enjoy it daily.  Ten different times in the Psalm 119 we read about the importance of praising the Lord for receiving His Word.  Repeatedly, Psalm 119 bids us to delight in the Word.  God loves and cherishes His Word.  It does not return to Him void.  We are to love His Word as well.  His Word helps us to know Him and the greatness of His many deeds of love and kindness. 
            Third, we show love to God when we pray.  Prayer is talking with the Lord.  Setting aside time to pray is an act of love.  We turn down all other distractions to be with God in an unshared and unbroken way.  We can pray verbally.  We can pray in a written form by journaling.  We can pray in silence as we sit before the Lord.  Just as we show our love for friends and family by talking with them and listening to them, we can express our love for God by taking time each day to be with Him.  It is hard to say that we love the Lord if we do not pray and seek Him each day.  Indeed, the Bible bids us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). 
            Fourth, we love God when we worship Him with other believers. God delights in the praise and worship of His people.  Worship is a choice on Sundays.  There are many, many competing ways and places where we could spend our time.  To join with other believers in worship is a way of declaring our love for the Lord and our commitment to express that love with time dedicated to Him—to sing, pray, dedicate and commit exclusively to Him alone. The choice we make to worship on Sundays really begins much earlier in the week when we clear our lives and schedules of the many things that could separate us from the Lord. We reduce the clutter and temptation of other things that can draw us from God’s house and presence.    
            And finally, we show our love to God by loving others.  We serve others, give to others and walk with others as a way of loving the Lord.  In His parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus said, “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ‘The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’’” (Matthew 25:37-40). Giving to, helping and serving others is one important way that we express our love to God. Kindness, goodness, gentleness and forgiveness offered to others is not wasted.  It is an important way of signaling our love for the Lord.  Have a great Thursday!  And may you grow in love for the Lord each day!