Who do you love?

We want people to love us. Books, songs, and movies are about love—we even set aside one day a year to celebrate love! A child needs love. Old people need love. We all want to be part of a group that cares for each other. But the world is full of hate. Many children and old people are not loved. Why is this? Hatred exists because we do not love God as we ought to—and because we don’t love God as we ought to, we can’t love each other as we should. But God is love. Is God first in your life? Do you love God above all else? Ray Comfort shares the following experience:

“Many years ago, I purchased a T.V. for our children, but the first evening we had it, I arrived home from work and found that they didn't even bother to greet me. They were too busy watching television. I turned it off and explained to them that if they ignored me because they preferred to watch T.V. they were setting their love on the gift rather then the giver, a wrong order of affections. In the same way, if we love anything—husband, wife, children or even our own lives—more than we love God, we are setting our affection on the gift rather than the Giver, which means we have broken the First of the Ten Commandments. In fact, the Bible says that we should so love God that our love for Mom and Dad and brother and sister should seem like hatred compared to the love we have for the God who gave those loved ones to us.”

We are also commanded to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Jesus spoke of a Samaritan who found an injured stranger, bathed his wounds, carried him to an inn, gave money for his care and told the inn-keeper that he would pay for his expenses. We call him the good Samaritan, but in reality he wasn't "good" at all, he merely obeyed the basic command to love his neighbor as himself. That is a picture of how God expects us to love our fellow human beings. We should love them as much as we love ourselves...whether they be friend or foe.

Have you ever wished someone were dead? Have you ever hated anyone, for any reason? The Bible says, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murder has eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15). If so, did you realize you have broken #6 of the Ten Commandments? Jesus warned that if we get angry without cause we are in danger of judgment. If we hate our brother, God calls us a murderer. We can violate God's Law by attitude and intent.

Have you loved God with all your heart? Have you loved humanity as much as you love yourself? You be the judge. Will you be innocent or guilty on Judgment Day of breaking The Ten Commandments (breaking one breaks them all)? I'm not judging you—I'm asking you to judge yourself before the Day of Judgment. The sentence for breaking this Commandment is death.

God does not want man to die in his sin. It hurts God to see people hating people. This is why He sent his only Son, Jesus, to die for us so that we could have real life. That shows how bad sin is in God’s sight. “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (I John 3:16) Would you die for a loved one? for a friend? for an enemy? “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

God wants all people to be His children. He commands that all people repent of (turn away from) their sins (like loving ourselves more than God, murder/hatred and any of the other broken Ten Commandments) and to take Jesus into their hearts. When we do this, we will also love other people. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to all men that all people everywhere should repent.” (Acts 17:30) “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.” (I John 3:23)

When you repent of your sin and love God, you will love other people! What a wonderful God we have! “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called the children of God; and such we are.” (I John 3:1)“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)