Love the LORD Your God

KEY VERSE: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” —Deuteronomy 6:4,5

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 6:1-13

TO LOVE GOD is to love his laws and principles which govern all the functions of his great universe, animate and inanimate. From whatever angle we consider any action of the universe, we come to the conclusion that its creation and its activities are the result of laws made by divine wisdom enforced by divine power. Without divine guidance or law, the universe, and life itself, could neither have been developed nor have continued to exist.

Man can plan profitably because of the constancy of these laws; he can rely on the uniformity of the material with which he works. He cannot change the laws of nature according to his fancy—he can accomplish things only by complying with, and taking advantage of, these laws. For instance, he can build bridges or skyscrapers because he knows that a steel girder of a certain size and quality will support a certain weight, and any other girder of the same material, size, and quality will support a like weight. Man cannot violate these laws without serious consequences.

It is quite evident that if man wishes to make the best of life, he must learn the laws of the Creator and conform to them. Do we not see here a wonderful illustration? Here are the laws of a great Creator and all things are the result of his wisdom and his power. His laws and rules extend even to man and his behavior; and only the acceptance of these laws will bring the blessings man so much desires—even eternal life.

As matter performs only in conformity with certain fundamental laws and rules made by the Creator so all forms of life on earth (lower than man) similarly have implanted within themselves instincts, causing them to perform the functions necessary to preserve life, and to carry out God’s purposes.

Man is the supreme creation in the material world—he was made in the image of God. He is as superior to the solar system as he is to the atom, because he possesses life and conscious purpose—the ability to think. Man alone is a free moral being, having the privilege of doing good or evil; the privilege to keep the law of his Creator or to disregard it. The fearful conditions existing on this earth are convincing proof that mankind has chosen not to live in harmony with the laws, the principles of God, his Creator. As a result, man is reaping the results of his disobedience—death. “The wages of sin is death.” “Dying thou shalt die.”—Rom. 6:23; Gen. 2:17, Margin

We might ask the question: What is this law of God which man has failed to observe? Plainly and simply stated, it is love for God—love for his Creator. Our Lord himself summed up God’s law, saying, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” (Mark 12:30) Such love implies reverence for him, obedience to him, a recognition of the fact that God’s authority is supreme; a recognition of the fact that he cannot violate either his laws covering the material world of the universe or the laws concerning God’s intelligent creation, without suffering harmful consequences. If we can but hear its voice, the natural world is preaching to us a constant sermon in regard to God.

David wrote: “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.” (Ps. 119:97) Such was the admiration of David for the law of God, and such were the benefits he received from meditation upon the testimonies of God—“more understanding than all his teachers.” (vs 99) If David could receive such rich blessings from meditating upon God’s law, it would be well for us to do likewise.

The psalmist wrote: “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne.” (Ps. 89:14) In these qualities are reflected all God’s attributes: his love, his wisdom, his justice, and his power. It is of utmost importance, as well as of great interest, that we as members of God’s family have a good understanding, a thankful appreciation, and an admiration for his law as it relates to all his works. For, as we increase in our discernment of the ways of our God, our love for him increases, and with it our desire to walk more fully in the path of his light.

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