Day 26 – Love the Lord

Jesus said the most important thing we can do is love God and love people. What does He mean by “love God?”

This refers to our direct relationship with God. It implies taking proper time and giving proper attention to Him through reading and meditating His Word, and through prayer – our regular “devotions.”

But equally important is to obey what we read and hear. Since walking in Christ is the result of being doers of the Word (James 1:22-25), abiding in Christ is the result of being doers of the Word continually. Jesus makes this plain in Jn 15:9-10; “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”

Here we see the direct connection between abiding in the love of God and keeping His commandments. The two are inseparable.

Jesus takes some of the romance out of loving God. Yes, there will be emotional elements to our relationship with Him, and these can be wonderful experiences. But He says very plainly that our love is primarily demonstrated in obedience. And He repeated this idea on several occasions.

All this means placing Him at the centre of our lives. And this takes time, energy and discipline.

We must not place "Christianity" there, although Christianity is good. We must not place church there, although church is good. It’s Jesus who needs to be at the centre – the core – of our lives.

And it is from Him that we draw our true life.

Consider:

Do I have a regular, meaningful connection with God?

Is Jesus at the centre of my life?