Thursday, January 29, 2026

Opening Scripture

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Opening Prayer

I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you, oh, my soul, rejoice. Take joy, my King in what you hear. Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Matthew 22:34-40

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Reflection  

This passage contains what’s known as the “Great Commandment.” Today, we will focus on the first part of that command: Love God.

The command to love God first appeared in the “Shema” (our Opening Scripture). After Moses shared the Ten Commandments with the Israelites, he offered this additional instruction: “So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”

That’s when Moses said, “Listen up! (Hebrew: Shema). You must love God with all your heart, soul, and strength!” And as we’ve already established, the way we show our love for God is to obey His commands.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism frames this love relationship with God as the ultimate purpose of all humanity: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” This deeply personal relationship makes perfect sense when we understand that, through faith in Jesus, we are adopted into God’s family and He is our Heavenly Father.

That was God’s plan from the very beginning. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:5).

Flourishing Habit

Character and Virtue

Love for God is the foundation of the Christian life. As we read last week, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God’s love for us enables us to love Him in return. You can – and should – enjoy intimacy with God!

In John 14, Jesus explains how our adoption into God’s family invites us into the mysterious Trinitarian Fellowship. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

This divine loving relationship compels us to live a life that’s pleasing to God. Our devotion to God prompts obedience to His commands and produces a life of moral character and ethical virtue (think “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23).

Godly character manifests itself in righteous behavior. It looks like humility, integrity, justice, endurance, patience, and self-control. When godly character is present you see honest, ethical, and merciful conduct. When it’s absent, you see dishonest, unethical, and unmerciful conduct.

Think of a situation where you struggle to demonstrate the “fruit of the Spirit.” The next time you find yourself responding poorly, ask God to calm your spirit and give you his peace and perspective.

Personal example: Often while I’m driving, I get extremely frustrated with other drivers. When I feel my temperature start to rise, I begin reciting the “fruit of the Spirit” – rarely getting past #4: love, joy, peace, patience… – and it helps!

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!