The First Commandment

“The Lord your God will cleanse your heart…. so that you will love Him with all your heart and soul.” Deuteronomy 30:6

God greatly desires our love. 

It is the nature of all love to want to be acceptable and to be accepted.  God longs to have the love of our whole heart.

How can we love God with all our heart and soul?  In the same way that we receive salvation – through faith alone.  Paul says, “I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).  When we take time to wait upon God and remember how God sought to win our love through the gift of His Son, we shall realize that God has a strong longing for our love.

Our hearts are blind.  It is easy to forget that God longs for the love of His child.  Once we believe it, we will feel constrained to wait before God and ask Him to let His light shine into our hearts.  As the sun gives us its light, God is a thousand times more willing to give us the light of His love.

As we wait silently before God, we become strong in the assurance of faith.  God, who longs for our love, is almighty and will fill us with His love by the Holy Spirit.

Take time each day to love God and believe Him with firmer faith.  God will work within us, granting the desire to love Him with our whole heart.  He will enable us to prove our love by keeping His commandments.

by Andrew Murray
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

•    I Love the Lord – by Phil Ware

•   Keep Yourself in God’s Love – by Katherine Kehler

•   Overwhelming Love by Bill Bright

The post The First Commandment can be found online at Daily Thoughts about God.