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How to Love God More
How to Love God More
Jesus said the greatest command in the Law is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matt. 22:37). In Luke 7, Jesus tells us how to love God more deeply. When Simon the Pharisee rebukes Jesus for letting an immoral woman weep all over His feet, He tells him a parable. There was a moneylender with two debtors: one owed him 500 day’s wages, the other 50. When they were unable to repay, the lender graciously forgave them both. Jesus asked, “Which of them will love him more?” (7:42). “Simon answered, and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have judged correctly.’” (7:43)
As Christians, we shouldn’t constantly beat ourselves up for our sins like miserable wretches. We’ve been forgiven! However, if we want to love God more deeply, we need to appreciate just how much we’ve been forgiven. That means reflecting on the magnitude of our sin. Simon, like most people in the world, had no love for God because he didn’t understand how much he had wronged God. Ironically, since the immoral woman wept over her sins, she could keep the greatest command better than Simon, a religious leader! Those who have been forgiven much, love much.
