- Feb 5, 2002
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I want to talk about something fundamental. We’re going to discuss what God really wants—the most important thing to God.
So here are 9 mysteries concerning this subject
One of the ways is that Scripture flat-out tells us that God himself is love. In 1 John 4, we read:
God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (1 John 4:16).
Love is a major theme in the Gospels. In one of the most famous verses—John 3:16—we read:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
That’s one of the key ways God manifests his love for us: he sent his Son to save us.
But love is not only one of God’s characteristics. It’s something he also expects of us. In all 3 of the Synoptic Gospels—or Matthew, Mark, and Luke—we learn about a controversy regarding the greatest commandment of the Law.
The Law of Moses contained hundreds of commandments, and Jewish scholars debated which were the most important. You might think that the 10 Commandments—which are found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5—were the most important.
But one day a scholar asked Jesus which was the most important commandment of all. In Mark’s version of the event, we read:
Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
So the two greatest commandments are love of God and love of neighbor. That tells us that God’s highest priority for us . . . is love. It’s the thing he’s most concerned about.
And we see this all across the New Testament, including statements from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul
So here are 9 mysteries concerning this subject
- What God Really Wants
One of the ways is that Scripture flat-out tells us that God himself is love. In 1 John 4, we read:
God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (1 John 4:16).
Love is a major theme in the Gospels. In one of the most famous verses—John 3:16—we read:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
That’s one of the key ways God manifests his love for us: he sent his Son to save us.
But love is not only one of God’s characteristics. It’s something he also expects of us. In all 3 of the Synoptic Gospels—or Matthew, Mark, and Luke—we learn about a controversy regarding the greatest commandment of the Law.
The Law of Moses contained hundreds of commandments, and Jewish scholars debated which were the most important. You might think that the 10 Commandments—which are found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5—were the most important.
But one day a scholar asked Jesus which was the most important commandment of all. In Mark’s version of the event, we read:
Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
So the two greatest commandments are love of God and love of neighbor. That tells us that God’s highest priority for us . . . is love. It’s the thing he’s most concerned about.
And we see this all across the New Testament, including statements from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul
- Love and the Ten Commandments
What Does God Really Want? – Jimmy Akin
jimmyakin.com
