Defining Discipleship
Step Eight: Love
Continuing through the gospels, the next thing we see Jesus doing is telling his followers to love God.
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
Luke 10: 25-28 (NIV)
This command is so fundamental it may as well be step one. It is tightly tied to repentance. We repent, because we love God, and it is impossible to love him with everything we are without repentance.
So what does it mean to truly love God?
Would you benefit from someone walking through this with you? Get connected with a mentor
Love God by obeying his commands
The command originates in Old Testament - immediately after a section where Moses has received the ten commandments. The command is sandwiched by verses instructing the people to obey.
These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe [...] be careful to obey so that it may go well with you [...] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
Deuteronomy 6: 1, 3, 5-6 (NIV)
If we are in any doubt that this still counts, Jesus tells his disciples this
If you love me, keep my commands.
Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.“
John 14: 15, 23-24 (NIV)
This may seem a little strange. Obedience is love? Does this mean that God is trying to control us and redefining that as love? If, however, we start from the perspective that God loves us, and his commands are for our benefit, we can see that obedience is actually a natural expression of love. If someone who loves us asks us to do something for them and we do the opposite, what does that say about our love?
Love God by loving others
As we saw in Luke 10, Jesus says the second greatest commandment is to love each other. In John's gospel he expands on this. Not only is it a commandment, it is the way that people will know that we are his followers.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13: 34-35 (NIV)
Love God by laying down our lives
Later in John's gospel, Jesus repeats the command to love one another, and expands on it.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”
John 15: 9-14 (NIV)
Jesus goes on to demonstrate this in its most extreme form by dying for us on the cross. We would be wrong, however, to only interpret the words “lay down one's life” as die. Loving others can be a daily laying down of our own dreams, desires or needs.
Discipleship is a lifelong commitment of loving God, loving others and laying down our lives.
Take action
- What does it mean for you to Love God with everything? What will you do to show him your love today?
- Are there commands of Jesus you need to be obeying?
- What does it mean for you to genuinely love others? Even those you disagree with or dislike?
- How can you be laying down your life for others?
