I Don't Love God

I Don't Love God
Feb 22, 2010
John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command."


If you've been a Christian for any length of time, you will know about the greatest commandment. The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Despite not having to live under the Old Testament laws, these two previous commands can and do encompass the perfect Ten Commandments. After we've accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, these two greatest commands are the pivotal tenets of the Christian faith. If we can master these two things, loving God and loving our neighbor, then we've pretty much mastered life. BUT, we all fall short of obeying these two commands every day.

I don't know about you, but I've fallen short of these two commands this past week alone. I thought about myself more than God on several occasions. I've had brief arguments with others, asserting my rights and upholding my side, more than I should. I've accelerated in traffic ahead of others to get myself where I'm going, and I don't think I turned the other cheek at the appropriate times. While I wasn't dealing drugs or robbing a bank, these actions are still not what God desires. I'm not perfect and I KNOW you aren't either. In fact, everyone reading this is guilty of violating almost every one of the Ten Commandments this past week. No one is perfect; the closer you get to God, the more you are aware of this and your individual sins. In short, both of us have violated God's two most critical commands: loving God passionately and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Our own actions condemn us. Our actions demonstrate what we don't want to admit. If we were honest about our actions this past week, none of us could prove our love for the Lord. After all, if we really did love Him, we would obey His commands. My lips say that I love the Lord, but my actions constantly prove otherwise. Your lips might say that you love the Lord, but your actions demonstrate the opposite. Christians who are living by the two greatest commandments will always be the kindest, gentlest, most compassionate people on the face of the planet. But the fact of the matter is, there are a lot of rude and selfish Christians out there AND you and I are often those people.

Before you hang up your Christianity, there is hope for you and me yet. God is aware of our shortcomings; He said that we all have fallen short of His intended glory. But listen to the sweet words He uses after noting our shortcomings. In the latter part of Romans 3:23, He says that we are "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." This does not mean that you may demonstrate your sinful nature freely against God's greatest commandments, but it does mean that Christ already took care of it when you do. When your actions declare that you really don't love God, because you aren't keeping His greatest commandments, Christ declares that you are covered by His sacrificial work on the cross. How amazing is His work for us!

While it is great that Christ has us covered, it would still be better if our actions proved that we really do love God, by keeping His commands. Every day is a new chance to demonstrate our love for the Lord by obeying the two greatest commandments. We all need to be open and honest about our actions. I am; are you?

1. Where in your life have you fallen short of the two greatest commandments this week?
2. Can you confess that your actions have proven the opposite of what you say with your lips?
3. How can you apply His grace to yesterday's shortcomings while proving your love for Him today?

Add. Scriptures for Study: Matt 22:33-40, Mark 12:27-29, Luke 6:29, Rom 3:23, Heb 4:1