As we begin the new year, Converge churches and missionaries from around the globe will embark on 21 Days of Prayer. Join us on this prayer journey by reading the daily entries on Converge’s blog, or by downloading your free 21 Days of Prayer: Praying God’s Agenda prayer guide. In addition, you can share daily posts from our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds. Thank you for joining us as we open 2020 in prayer together.
Love the One who commanded, “Love the Lord your God.”
Matthew 22:34-40
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 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. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Notice
People love discussions about “who is the greatest” or “which is the greatest.” Sports radio loves a raging “G-O-A-T” debate, as in the “greatest of all time.” MJ or LeBron? The Babe or Mickey Mantle? Want to start an argument? Ask a group of Americans which is the most important right of the Bill of Rights. In this exchange about the law, religious leaders are trying to cause Jesus trouble. It’s the GOAT question applied to God’s law, the Torah. Which of God’s commands is the greatest? Jesus answers brilliantly. Who can argue? After all, every Jewish child was taught to love God with their entire being as a “first principle” (see Deuteronomy 6:5). And now Jesus teaches us the same. Love God totally: emotional self, spiritual self, intellectual self — love him with your entire being.
Think about it
What do you think it means to love God with your entire being? To love him with “all” yourself? The implications are significant. Jesus taught this love is the greatest of all God’s commands in his law. Today, as you do your job, interact with family and friends and use your spiritual gifts in the life of your church, how can you do those things in a way that expresses your wholehearted love for God?
A prayer expressing your love for God
“Father in heaven, my love for you knows no bounds. I love you with my entire being. Help me today to express that love through my words and actions, to align my life with that love Jesus called your greatest command. As an expression of my love for you, let me love others with Jesus’ love: my family, coworkers, neighbors and brothers and sisters in Christ. Help me cling to that love when things go wrong today, when difficulties arise. Teach me, God, to love as you loved us when you gave your Son as our Savior and King. To the praise of your name, amen.”
To read more of God’s word
Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 36, II Thessalonians 3:1-5
