Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Greatest Commandment

What kept Abraham waiting 25 years for the promise of his son? What kept David waiting 17 years to become king of Israel? What kept Jesus waiting 33 years to fulfill the new covenant of God? Love. Not ambition. Not determination. Simply love. Love for the one who sent them, who anointed them, who created them. Love.

What holds you? What sustains your walk with the Lord? What keeps you going when life gets too rough and you really just want to quit? If you say anything other than Love, I'm here to tell you, you will not remain! This is not me being harsh, this is me being honest with you! John 14:15 says, "If you LOVE me you will obey me." We don't continue to obey because we are good. We don't continue to obey because we want to be looked upon well. We may start that way, and we may get pretty far in life by being "good", but we won't remain. Eventually something horrible will happen and we'll fall away. Look at Abraham! He got tired of waiting for his promise so he slept with another woman to have a baby. But guess what? He didn't let the guilt of his sin drive him from his destiny because he Loved his God and he trusted in God's love for him! What about David? Goodness, there isn't enough time to talk about all of his trials and his own shortcomings, but he remained! Why? Because he loved his God and trusted in God's love for him! What kept Jesus on the cross when God turned his head and Jesus' heart broke. When he cried out from the depth of his being, "MY GOD! WHY HAVE YOU LEFT ME??" Because he LOVED his father, and he KNEW even when he didn't feel, that his father LOVED him!

Friends, life is not always easy, and sometimes it's almost more than we can bear. YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT GOD NOT ONLY LOVES YOU, BUT FIGHTS OR YOU! HE IS PASSIONATE ABOUT YOU! YOU ARE HIS EVERY THOUGHT, HIS VERY HEARTBEAT! Loving your Creator and trusting in His love for you is the only thing that makes this life worth living. Heartache is going to happen. Disappointments will seep in. You will surprised by life more often than you want. The only way to get to the other side is to Love the Lord enough to stand in the midst of the fire, trusting that He will rescue you. Knowing that he will! Do you love Him that much? Do you trust Him that much?

Tozer talks in his book, The Pursuit of God, of Abraham and the sacrifice God asked him to make of Isaac. Not only his son, but his PROMISE. His destiny. He says that this was Abraham's test. Did he love God more than God's promise? Did he love God more than his son? Did he TRUST IN GOD'S LOVE FOR HIM, that even though he may not have understood, he believed that God only wanted what was best for him? The answer of course, was yes. He did. Tozer goes on to say, "So we will be brought, one by one to that testing place, and we may never know when we are there. At that testing place there will be no dozen possible choices for us to make--just one and the alternative--but our whole future will be conditioned by the choice we make."

Abraham was able to make that one choice, not because he was good. Not because he was determined. But because he Loved. Is your love of God and trusting in His for you enough to keep you? Tozer points out that had Abraham failed in this task, God's will still would have been accomplished. He would have found SOMEONE who loved him that much, but "the loss to Abraham would have tragic beyond telling." That is the glorious revelation! God doesn't NEED you...He WANTS you! He doesn't even want you perfect...can we say DAVID? He simply wants your love. Love him and find your life transformed.



"You shall the love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul and with all of your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment." ~ Jesus
Matthew 22:38

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the encouragement.....great post!
    Love,
    Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tosha, I am a child when it comes to reading and understanding the Bible. There are moments when guilt will set in. Usually when I think of all the time I ignored God's cry for me. To this day, I still have a hard time believing I could be loved that much no matter what I've done or thought. Your post had perfect timing for me. I am so impressed by your ability to put into words what I sometimes can't understand on my own. That, my friend, is a gift from God. So glad you are using your talent.
    Thank you,
    Becky

    ReplyDelete
  3. love is truly all we need

    ReplyDelete