The Only Source of True Love

Matthew 22:37-38

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."

Yesterday's post dealt with loving the Lord with all you've got, which is a paraphrase of the Greatest Commandment that Jesus taught (vv. 37-38). As a follow up, I'd like to add these final thoughts. The first and great commandment is so, because of its -

1. Antiquity, being as old as the world, and engraven originally on our very nature; indeed from before the inception of time (Rev. 1:8; 4:8;11:17; 22:13).

2. Dignity, as directly and immediately referring to God and God alone (Deut. 6:4-5).

3. Excellence, being the commandment of the new covenant (Matt. 26:28), and the very spirit of the Divine adoption (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:15).

4. Justice, because it alone renders to God His due, prefers Him before all things, and secures to Him His proper rank in relation to them (Matt. 6:33; Prov. 3:9).

5. Sufficiency, being in itself capable of making men holy in this life, and happy in the other (Rom. 8:28-29; II Cor. 5:17).

6. Fruitfulness, because it is the root of all commandments, and the fulfilling of the law (Jn. 15:1-10).

7. Virtue and efficacy, because by this alone God reigns in the heart of man, and man is united to God (II Cor. 3:3).

8. Extent, leaving nothing to the creature, which it does not refer to the Creator (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

9. Necessity, being absolutely indispensable (Col. 1:13-17).

10. Duration, being ever to be continued on earth, and never to be discontinued in heaven (Rev. 21:1-6).

The love this world needs and the love you need is found in Christ and Christ alone. Don't walk away from the only source of true love - Jesus Christ. He's calling you, Reader. Answer today!

Jesus, I Want to Know What True Love Is!



The 10 observations of the Great Command courtesy Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Your Worth to the Father

Isaiah 49:16
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;"





A well-known preacher began his sermon by holding up a $100.00 bill.

In the auditorium of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $100 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $100 to one of you, but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $100 dollar bill.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still, the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?"

And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?"

Yet, the hands went into the air.

"My friends," he said, "There's a valuable lesson in this illustration. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $100. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and by the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened, what is happening or what will happen, you will never, never ever lose your value in God's eyes. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to your Heavenly Father. The worth of your lives comes not in what you do or your social standing in life or what political influences you wield. The life is worth very much - indeed, worth more than gold - because you were purchased with the most precious commodity there is in life. You were bought with the blood of His Son Jesus Christ at Calvary. You are special to God and the proof is there at the cross. Christ's outstretched hands are ready to receive you."

Romans 8:35-39

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Jesus knocks on the door of your heart (see Rev. 3:20) with his nail-scarred hand. Answer Him now!

For Jesus shed His precious blood
rich blessings to bestow;
plunge now into the crimson flood
that washes bright as snow.

Only trust Him, only trust Him,
only trust Him now.
He will save you, He will save you,
He will save you now.

Here's how: The Plan of Salvation!