Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Written by Beliza Kocev, Iron Rose Sister Ministries Brazil Coordinator

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Mt 22:36-40 NIV)

Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:36-37 show us which of the commandments is the most important of all: Love God, without reservation, totally, with everything we are and everything we have. But what is this love like? How do we demonstrate this love?

When we love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind we make Him more important than anything else in our life. More important than our spouse, our kids, our parents, our social position, career, reputation, dreams, desires, emotions, and even more important than our life itself. Pleasing Him becomes our prime objective and purpose. And even though it may hurt, we renounce everything that distances us from that purpose.

Love seems difficult to define. And if we look it up, we will find various meanings and descriptions, as well as differing opinions.

Unfortunately, we live in a time in which the word “love” has become simply a feeling. To love someone is often confused with “feeling good with them”. But “feeling good” with someone doesn’t constitute love in biblical terms. In biblical terms, love is intimately linked to doing, and specifically, loving God and doing what He wants— that is, obeying His commandments, His will. Jesus made this very clear when He said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (Jn 14:15).

To love God is to obey Him. The greatest command is to love God and the way we do that is by obeying what He tells us to do. To love God and to keep His commands, the Word of God, are inseparable from each other. First John 5:3 says, “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.”

Loving God with all our hearts is the greatest command. But loving God is not a state of mind where we “feel good” about God. Loving God is the same as doing His will. We cannot say that we love God and at the same time be disobedient to Him. Faith is not a state of mind. Faith in God and His Word is the same as being obedient. Let us not believe in the lies that try to separate one from the other. Also, the love of God and His favor comes back to those who love Him— that is, those who please Him and do His will. Furthermore, we also see that it is better to go ahead and do God's will even when we don't feel like doing it, than to disobey Him. This does not make us robots without feelings. We can (should) always talk to the Lord, express how we feel, and share how difficult the situation is for us. If there is another way, He will provide it for us. He is the most wonderful Master and Father of all, gracious and good to all His children. Jesus did this:

…My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death… My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will… My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done. (Mt 26:38-42)

May we have courage, faith, and especially love for God to obey Him every day of our lives. And when it is difficult, may we ask God for the strength to do His will.

Written by Ilca Medeiros, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Brazil

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Mt 22:36-40 NIV)

When we are called to talk about love for God, we almost automatically begin to talk about His love for us. We can do this excellently because it is a perfect and spotless love. When we become aware of such great love and such an impactful example, we come across a commandment (Mt 22:36-40), which would not make sense to us if it did not come from God: “Love”! It is not a love of only feelings, but of action. The Bible says that we should love Him above all things and this love is a reflection of God's unconditional love for us. First John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” When we feel this love for God, we want to please Him, obey Him, and serve Him with a heart full of gratitude.

The first source of love for God according to Matthew 22:36-40 is the HEART.
A clean heart without bitterness and resentment is a fertile land for cultivating love, which spreads to everyone around us. Whoever loves God with all their heart longs to be with Him, draws closer to Him, and develops intimacy through prayer, communion, and His Word. We like to be around those we love. So it should be with God. He doesn't need anything we have. Not even our love. Now we can imagine our Creator rejoicing in the fact that we love Him with all our hearts! I know that we are capable of feeling such love, of being side by side with Him every day, because He Himself promised in Matthew 28:20 that He would be with us every day. On good days and bad days. Just hold His hand.

God knows how much we love Him by the way we treat our brothers and sisters. How we are connected to each other, how we see each other, how we care for and serve those in need. “...Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (1Jn 4:21).

The second source of love for God according to Matthew 22:36-40 is the SOUL.
Our soul is the center of our attitudes. It leads us to practice what comes from the heart. It's feeling in practice! The word soul comes from the Latin animu which means “that which animates”. It reveals our personality; it is the center of our will. Loving God with our soul means leaving behind everything that imprisons us and prevents us from serving. It's denying ourselves when love requires sacrifice and change.

When we love God in our souls, we seek communion with our brothers and sisters even when our bodies are tired and we don't want to go to church. We still strive to offer God the best of ourselves with attitudes that please Him.

What our soul feels reflects in our body and our actions. We cannot forget to feed our souls with good things so that every offering of love to God has a sweet aroma. We become weak in our souls when we leave God out of our battles.

The third source of love for God according to Matthew 22:36-40 is UNDERSTANDING.
When we make the decision to serve God, we are asked if we understand the importance of our decision, and we say yes. We understand that from then on, our lives are linked to God for eternity. Once the initial thrill has passed, it is worth reflecting on: Who is God for us? What difference does He make in our lives? Are our relationships influenced by Him?

The way we understand our new life in Christ makes us grateful, happy, and full of hope. We return to God a love that comes from Him. To understand His love, it is necessary for Him to live in us, as there is no other source of understanding this love other than in Him. The same God who loves us in practice, commands us to love Him. We are not obligated, but motivated to love Him by understanding that He is everything in us, knowing that He is our Creator, Father of Love, and Protector.

We love God when we understand the size of the connection we have with Him. We love not only in moments of blessings received but based on His feelings for us. Constant, continuous, and unconditional.

We can make a list of things we still are not doing to demonstrate our love for God. This love must be contagious. May everyone around us know how much we love Him, and may they want to know Him.