The First Commandment: What Is Our Greatest Priority?
Establishing, developing and maintaining that personal relationship
with the true and living God is the most important commitment we can
ever make. That is the primary focus of the first of the Ten Commandments.
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:2-3).When asked which of all the laws of Scripture is the greatest,
Christ responded with the command emphasizing the supreme importance
of our personal relationship with God: "You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:35-38; see also Deuteronomy 6:5).
Establishing, developing and maintaining that personal relationship
with the true and living God is the most important commitment we can
ever make. That is the primary focus of the first of the Ten Commandments: "You
shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3).
The supreme guiding power over our lives, that which controls our ideals,
is our focus of worship. Many things can take the place of the worship
of the true God in our hearts and minds. The adoration of these things
will eliminate any possibility of our establishing or maintaining a
real relationship with God.
The basis of our relationship with God
The Bible is clear concerning the basis of our relationship with God:
He is our Creator!
