which comes first?

Which comes first, the Great Commission or the Great Commandment? I recently read a blog that posed that very question and it has got me thinking.

Are we to first live out the Great Commission (go therefore to all nations, making disciples...) or are to we first to love the Love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul and mind? And let's not forget about the Second Great Commandment (Love Our Neighbors as Ourselves).

At least chronologically, the Great Commandment obviously comes first (Matthew 22 vs. Matthew 28) - but even in practice it just makes more sense. How can you make disciples if you don't first love the Lord? Worship is what we are talking about here. Yes, service is important, but first and foremost is worship. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind."

When our worship is true, it burns in our heart the desire to live out the rest of the equation ("Love your neighbor as yourself") & it also gives us the burning passion to "go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." It's also important to note that this Commission is bookended by the power and presence of God. It's Christ in us.