Don’t try to obey the Great Commandment without first receiving God’s great salvation. He always loves first. Our love is merely a response to His great love toward sinners. Let us behold the cross of Jesus and love it more and more. Let us be moved by His amazing grace. And let us love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind.

The lawyer stopped Jesus and asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law” (Matt 22:36)? Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”

Matt 22:37

When the lawyer asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest, Jesus gave Him the perfect answer. We call it “The Great Commandment,” and as we read the impeccable wisdom of Jesus, we are encouraged, challenged, and humbled. Christians throughout all time have been, rightly, energized to love God more through this high calling. But I have to say this: There is something greater than the Great Commandment. Before you strike me off as a heretic, hear me out.

The Great Commandment is truly great. Jesus says that this commandment, with the second greatest commandment to love your neighbor, is the summation of the entirety of God’s Law. In other words, if you perfectly love God and perfectly love your neighbor, then you will find yourself in perfect obedience to the requirements of all of God’s commandments. Wow. As Christians, we rightly pursue a great love for God and neighbor in order to better please our God.

And yet, we don’t love God as we ought.

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