Message #4: How did Jesus sum up the will of God for our lives?
Hello! This is the final study in our tract series, but there is more to come if you subscribe to more writings. God bless you on your journey. Please ask the Holy Spirit to be with you as you read.
What is the will of God for me? Here it is in Matthew 22:
Jesus said…“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”—Matthew 22:37-40.
When we examine the Ten Commandments, we find that Jesus’s statement sums them up perfectly. The first four commandments (abbreviated here) tell us how to love God:
- Worship the Creator, one God only.
- No idol worship.
- Use His name with respect.
- Keep God’s Sabbath holy.
The last six commandments (abbreviated here) are about how to love our neighbor:
5. Honor your parents.
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not be unfaithful to your spouse.
8. Do not take what does not belong to you.
9. Do not lie.
10. Do not desire for another person’s property, spouse, or servant; be satisfied with what you have.
Aren’t these ideas most excellent ways to love God, and to love your neighbor as yourself? They keep societies happy; they keep the Universe happy! The commandments are eternal because they represent God’s character of love.
Even the Sabbath commandment is eternal! This verse gives a look into our future, for we will keep the Sabbath in heaven!:
“For as the new heavens and the new Earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord.” —Isaiah 66:22-23.
Apparently, we will be keeping the Sabbath even in our future life after death. It was never done away with. The blessing of this special seventh day will go on forever! IF we choose to observe the Bible Sabbath, Friday night sundown to Saturday night sundown, we are promised a blessing. It is a day to be with family, a day to go to church, study God”s word, and fellowship with other believers. We rest from our usual daily grind activities.
The Ten Commandments embody God”s love, and He loves us unconditionally. This is the reason why Jesus went to the cross for us. His laws must always stand, and God cannot deny the righteousness of His ways. He cannot deny man’s need for the law. Therefore, Jesus went to the cross for humans to be saved and for the law to stand firm, despite our sins. It was the only way to keep us and to keep the law. He took the punishment for us, so our mistakes could be overcome. As our response, we need to learn from our mistakes and keep striving to meet God’s law of perfection. We have our lives on Earth to do this. If we fall short, we learn, and then we return to the Lord.
Does the law save us? No. We are saved by Gods grace which is given as a free gift. Jesus”s blood was His mercy poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. We obey His commandments because of their loving nature and because we are grateful to Jesus. He died to save us, and we love Him for what He did. Therefore, we make ourselves ready for the new heaven and new Earth, for Him, to be His bride. It is truly a love story!
Come to Jesus as you are! After making a decision for Christ, the process of learning to live by God’s commandments begins. It becomes possible to love others with a heart like Jesus and to obey the commandments the way Jesus did. God is a most forgiving God. He just wants us to commit to Him and be willing to obey Him. He then gives us the strength and the power to obey.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
—Philippians 4:13.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”
—James 4:7-8a.
Let’s put God first. He is God and He must be in His rightful place in our lives. The first and second commandments mean: Every need we have, we can turn to Him to meet. Every longing and desire He can fulfill by giving us the means. If we get to that point, we have put idols out of our lives and made Him truly God! We did not know it was Him blessing us with health, talents, family, food, a mate (if we have one), and a home. He has been, and always will be, responsible for every good thing in our lives. Let us truly love and thank God for Who He is and all He does!
The story of The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) shows us what God means by “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We should sacrifice for the sake of each other, love one another, and tolerate differences in each other. Diversity is part of God’s plan for humanity. The other person does not have to be alike to you in religion or culture. They can be different and still be worthy of help and love. Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” -John 13:34. How did Jesus love us? He preached to the Gentiles. He healed the sick, the poor, and the lame. He taught the people about the Father. He kept all the commandments. If we all aspired to mirror Jesus’s behavior in our lives, the world would be a different place.
Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” -Matthew 5:17. Jesus wants us to obey the commandments out of love toward Him and toward our neighbors. And our neighbors include all of humanity. Realizing this, we can help Jesus fulfill the law!
Here is a new life perspective for you: We were created by God to praise and glorify Him through our work, our talents, our emotions, and our relationships. The Ten Commandments are a guide to help us do all this as a love offering to God.
Would you be willing to open your heart to a God of love?
His creatures are all so important to Him. Would you open your heart to people who are different from you in many ways? Would you feed the hungry, help those who need help, and sacrifice for the needs of others? Would you start by loving your family? Forgive, love, nurture, and care for them. Let the world see Jesus through your actions and your love.
A Prayer for you:
Dear Jesus,
I am sorry for my sins which have separated me from You. I want to be the person You made me to be! Send Your Holy Spirit into my heart now and lead me with Your loving hand. I believe You died on the cross for me and rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 28:6). I am grateful that You died to save me. Now I give my life to You, so I will be with You forever in Your heavenly kingdom. Thank You, Jesus, for the new life You have in store for me! Amen!
Congratulations! You have completed the series. I pray you will continue on your journey of learning more about God. I suggest you set aside at least 15 minutes every morning to devote to centering your life in Christ. This is called a morning devotion. You can purchase a daily reader devotional book if you like. My devotions include: I sing a hymn. Then I read a chapter of the Bible, especially from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. I finish by giving praise and thanks to God, making requests for others, and asking for guidance. If you do something similar, you will find that your relationship with God grows quickly.
Pray by talking to God as you would talk to another person. Whether you pray silently in your mind or out loud, He promises He will hear you.