The Greatest Commandment

Tom Barnard

 

“Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free.

If we understand our first and sole duty to consist of loving God supremely

and loving everyone, even our enemies, for God’s dear sake,

then we can enjoy spiritual tranquility under every circumstance.”

 

A. W. Tozier, in The Pursuit of God

 

This is the time of year that resolutions are easily and quickly made, and soon broken. But we still make them. Our intentions are good; we just can’t control the pressures and conflicts that follow closely on the heels of those good intentions. Maybe we make too many resolutions. Maybe things would go better if we could reduce our resolutions to one. A. W. Tozier understood this principle. He narrowed the scope of his resolutions to a single one—doing the will of God. One day Jesus was asked by a Pharisee, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” The Pharisee thought he had forced Jesus into a theological corner. But Jesus quickly answered him, “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.” Jesus was not finished. He continued, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-38)

 

We are at the threshold of a new year—2007. The decisions we make this year are still ahead of us. The year is like a clean scroll, on which we will write out our lives during the next twelve months. To prepare for this, why not reduce your spiritual goals to one? Why not go to the top of the list of the Laws and select the one from which all other laws flow? Pray this prayer with me:

 

“Heavenly Father, with the saint of old I want to make my spiritual goal this year to know and do Your Will. I understand this will require my living by love—loving you and loving others.  That will challenge me, but I know that if I set my heart on it, everything else I do will fall into its proper place. May this be so, is my prayer. Amen.”