I was thinking the other day over the phrase “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” As I meditated on that verse it wasn’t the with part that captivated me. I get that Jesus basically says to love God with your whole self, your whole life.
What got me was “love God.” What does it mean to love God?
My mind immediately went to the definition of love by Dallas Willard. He said in a speech I heard him give that love in the Scriptures was not emotion. He defined it as genuinely wanting the best for the other person.
So what would it mean to want the best for God? How about this…
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33 NLT)
or…
May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:10-13 NLT)
What’s interesting is that each of those two verses find themselves placed in a context of met needs. So loving God by seeking his kingdom first provides for our needs, allowing us to love others out of what He has given us?
