The Great Commandments - Benevolence Toward the Interest of His Kingdom

In continuing the understanding of how to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, today I am going to look at the part of the definition of love from Webster's 1828 dictionary that says. . . Benevolence toward the interest of His Kingdom.

What are the interest of God's Kingdom?

God created the entire universe, man, all of the laws of nature, and all of our social institutions. He created us in His image and to be in relationship with Him. He has shared with us that the best way to live out our lives is in obedience to him. We find this blueprint for living in both creation (an example), the Bible (his words), and in the life of Jesus (another example).


I would say the interest of his kingdom is first and foremost that all people would know Him as Creator and as Lord and Savior. This is realizing a saving faith that will bring you into an eternal relationship with the Father and is only available through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The very fact that Jesus-God himself-humbled himself to become man, and take our punishment for us, shows the extent in which God will go to further the interest of His Kingdom.

Secondly, that we would all live in obedience to His rule and under his Lordship here on earth. We are the safest, happiest, and most at peace when we are living in His will for our lives. He has given us examples all around us in nature to show us how perfect we can be when we live the way we designed to live. Just as a flower that shoots up from the ground and eventually blooms in perfect harmony with God's plan for it, we, too, can spring forth and bloom when we live as God intended for us. Imagine if a flower, thinking it knew better, went off on it's own and tried to become a monkey. The flower would fail miserably in its quest and destroy itself, never reaching it's full potential. We, too fail miserably and destroy ourselves when we think we know better than God. God created us perfectly and beautifully and with great unique capabilities. He knows what is best for us and we are the most complete when we live out that reality.

Thirdly, I would say God sees his masterpiece world ruined and cursed by sin and He grieves with compassion for His people. I believe He wants to use those of us that have already embraced Him as Lord, to touch the lives of those all around us who still struggle and hurt under the oppression of living apart from Him. He wants to further His Kingdom here on earth by using us to tell others about Him, to love all of His creations, and to implement His laws here on earth (at the very least in the hearts of families). There are many opportunities to match our God given talents and abilities in creatively meeting the needs of the world.

We love God because He first loved us and has been executing a purposeful plan since the beginning. He has covered our shortcomings with the blood of Jesus. He has given us rules to live by that are in our best interest. He gives us work to do so that we can be not only a part of His family but part of the very important job of furthering the Kingdom. We have heavenly responsibilities!

We love God because He has included us in His plan for His Kingdom and guaranteed us a place in the eternal heavens right beside Him, as heirs to the Kingdom!