Our love for God must come first

John 12:37-41

But despite all the miraculous signs He had done, most of the people did not believe in Him.

 

This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:  “Lord, who has believed our message?  To whom will the Lord reveal His saving power?”

 

But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,

 

“The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts – so their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to Me and let Me heal them.”

 

Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he made this prediction, because he was given a vision of the Messiah’s glory.

 

Many people, including some of the Jewish leaders, believed in Him. But they wouldn’t admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.

 

For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

 

“Hear, O Israel!  The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.  And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.  Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”   Deuteronomy 6:4-8  God wanted His people to know how important it is to put God first in their lives and to always remember who He was to them and all He’d done for them in delivering them from pharaoh’s control over them.  “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.  Do not worship any other gods besides Me. Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish.  You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god!”  Deut. 5:6-9  God is teaching us how important it is to love Him with all our hearts, minds, soul and strength.  He will not share our affections with anything we may worship besides Him.  So important is the purity of our heart and our commitment to the Lord.  As we remember all He’s done for us, we will want to put Him first in our lives and to love Him with all our hearts.  Jesus went to the cross for our sin.  He paid for us and redeemed us with His very own blood.  We belong to Him.  All believers are called His church and His bride.  Just as the groom wants his beloved, precious and beautiful bride to love him completely and to be the most important person in her life, so God also wants our full affection and commitment to Him alone.  We must see our relationship with Jesus as the most significant relationship we have.  Our coveneant relationship with Christ must take preeminence over any other relationship we have. Becaue we love Him, do not want to cause Him pain or grief by being unfaithful to Him.  We want to praise and worship Him for who He is and for all He’s done.  God is worthy of all our praise, honor and glory.

 

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for Jesus.  Thank You for Your love and for the life You’ve given us in Christ.  Thank You that we’ve been bought and redeemed by the blood of Christ and that we are precious in Your sight as Your dearly loved children.  May we love You completely and wholeheartedly.  May You be honored in our lives, in our thoughts, and in our praise.  Thank You for setting us free from the bondage of sin and slavery that was pulling us away from life and toward death and hell. Thank You for the hope we have in Jesus.  Thank You for opening our eyes and allowing us to believe in Him that we may have eternal life.  Thank You for the faith to believe and receive Christ.  Thank You for Your Holy Spirit that lives within us and that helps us to always remember Jesus and hear Your voice and follow Your will for our lives.  Thank You that we can know You through what Jesus has done for us on the cross.  I love You, Lord Jesus.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.

Tags: God's Love, God's Word, His Church is the Bride of Christ, knowing the love of God, Miraculous Signs, Praise and Worship Jesus, Purity in Heart, walking in the love of God, We are God's Beloved Children Through Redemption, We are Jesus' Inheritance