Congratulations to Jim Webb and the Weekly team on the 20th anniversary of the Webb Weekly serving the greater Susquehanna Valley! Thank you for providing a free, positive, encouraging, and informative word in our mailboxes every week. On days like these, we need all the good news we can get. Well done! And please, keep on doing it!
When asked, “What is the greatest command?” Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31. These are the five investments we’ll be discussing in this series of articles.
God is love, so we shouldn’t be surprised that loving God is the greatest command, but what does that mean? How do we do that? No one has ever seen God, so how do we express our love to Him?
Expressing love is most easily understood as behavior (words, actions, attitudes) that causes someone else to be pleased. To love God, we just need to find out what behaviors bring pleasure to God and then pursue those behaviors with everything we’ve got. Paul called on the people of the church in Ephesus to do just that.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”
Ephesians 5:8-10
Thankfully, God is not ambiguous in answering our “How do we love God?” question. The following list is far from exhaustive because the Scriptures are filled with statements that tell us how to please God. It’s a short list, but I assure you, these behaviors please the heart of God.
God is pleased when we love others and serve them with humility, respect, and generosity. See John 13:1-7, Matthew 25:31-46, I John 3:17, I John 4:19-21 and I Corinthians 13.
I chose loving others as the first way we bring pleasure to the heart of God because Jesus prioritized it as the second greatest command. Paul declared that without love for others, everything else we do is just noise. Love for others is even more important than displaying miraculous levels of faith, spiritual gifts, and personal sacrifice. You can read his statement in I Corinthians 13.
My friend, our spiritual piety means nothing to God if we do not love all the people He created. All of them. ALL OF THEM.
When asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded by telling the story of the good Samaritan. If you haven’t read it in a while, I suggest you do it now. It’s found in Luke 10:25-37.
God is pleased when we believe. See Hebrews 11:6 and I John 5:1-5.
The writer of Hebrews declared, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” John nails this point by writing, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” If you want to please the heart of God, then truly believe in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ.
God is pleased when we obey. See I Samuel 15:22 and John 14:15-24.
Samuel declared to the Israelites, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” The Israelites thought God was pleased by the sacrifices they offered to atone for their sins. They were wrong. What He really wanted was obedience. Sacrifices assuaged His anger, but obedience brought Him pleasure. It’s really important we understand the difference.
God is pleased when we are thankful. Psalm 95:1-2 and I Thessalonians 5:18.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” If God wills for us to do something, then we can be assured it brings Him pleasure — so let’s be thankful and always rejoicing.
God is pleased when we give Him a return on His investment. Matthew 25:14-30.
Jesus reveals this way of bringing pleasure to God’s heart by giving us the parable of the bags of gold. God has placed miraculous investments (heart, soul, mind, strength, neighbors) in each and every one of us. Sure, some have been given more than others, but the amount given is not important. What is important to God is the amount returned to Him. If there is an increase, any increase, God is pleased.
What are you doing with the investments God has made in you? Are you so disappointed because you believe God only gave you one bag of gold? Is that disappointment causing you to squander the opportunities in front of you? Listen closely; if you want to please the heart of God, then get up every day and work hard to bless Him with a good return on what He has given to you — because He has given you plenty. If you can’t see what He has invested in you, then you’re stuck in the sins of jealousy and covetousness. Confess your sin, be thankful for what you have received, and then get to work. God will be pleased.
