Based on Deuteronomy 10:12 and the Teachings of Jesus
God’s Demand
The question God asks in “What does the LORD your God require of you, O Israel?” (Deuteronomy 10:12) is not a historical question directed solely to the Hebrew people in the wilderness. It is the question the Lord poses to every man and every woman who has stood in His presence across all generations. And His answer is clear: that we fear Him, that we walk in all His ways, and — the central instruction of this teaching — that we love Him.
That third instruction seems straightforward. Most believers would answer without hesitation: “I love the Lord.” Yet this is precisely where one of the greatest misunderstandings within the body of Christ takes root. Because loving God is not a declaration, not a feeling, and not an emotion that stirs during praise and worship. Loving God is a learning process that develops through action, not theory.
This chapter examines the second and third instructions the Scriptures give us for growing in that learning process. The first instruction — denying oneself, as taught in Matthew 16 — was addressed previously. What follows completes the picture of what it truly means to love God in a genuine and transformative way.
A Foundational Truth: Love for God Must Be Learned
Before examining the specific instructions, a foundation must be established that many believers overlook: no human being is born knowing how to love God. Without exception. Men and women, new converts and lifelong believers — all of us must learn to love God.
This learning does not happen in the realm of ideas. It is not enough to read about loving God, to listen to sermons on the subject, or to repeat in prayer: “Lord, I love You.” Genuine love for God develops through action — through the concrete movement of each person who walks according to the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. The reason so many believers remain stagnant in their relationship with God is that they have confused theoretical love — the love of words, feelings, and emotions — with the love of action that God demands.
The apostle Peter is the most eloquent example of this confusion. When the Lord asked him, “Do you love Me?”, Peter answered with full conviction: “Lord, even if everyone else falls away, I never will. I am ready to go to prison and even to death with You.” Pure emotion. Pure sentiment. And that very same night, he denied Him three times. Years later, when the risen Lord asked him again, using the Greek word agape — unconditional, self-giving love — Peter did not respond in kind. He answered with phileo: “Lord, You know that I am fond of You; You know that I care for You.” Peter had learned, through failure, that true love is not declared — it is demonstrated.
Second Instruction: Strive to Go Beyond, with Joy
The principle and its roots in the Old Testament
The second instruction for learning to love God is this: strive to do more than what is required of you — more than what is demanded, more than even the limits you yourself have set — and do it with joy, with gladness, with cheerfulness, and with gratitude.
This principle has deep roots in the Old Testament. In Genesis 17:21, God says to Abraham: “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac.” The name Isaac, in Hebrew, means laughter. In the Old Testament, names were not mere labels — they carried meaning that described a reality. If we substitute the name with its meaning, the verse reads: “But My covenant I will establish with laughter.” God was prophetically communicating how men and women are to learn to love Him: by doing more than required, not with bitterness or resentment, but with laughter, with joy, with deep satisfaction.
Sarah confirms this principle in Genesis 21:6, when, upon seeing the promise fulfilled, she exclaims: “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” This is the spirit of the covenant. This is the disposition God seeks: action that goes beyond what is expected, accompanied by genuine joy.
The New Testament is consistent with this teaching. Peter wrote: “Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings” (1 Peter 4:13). Paul, in Philippians 4:4, repeated with emphasis: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Joy is not the absence of suffering; it is the attitude with which the believer responds when going beyond what would be comfortable or fair.
The four examples given by the Lord Jesus
In Matthew 5:40–42, the Lord presents four concrete examples that illustrate this instruction. They are situations drawn from everyday life, yet they carry a spiritual depth that must be examined carefully:
“And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:40–42)
The first two examples — verses 40 and 41 — involve legal impositions in which a court or civil authority has ruled against the believer. The last two — verse 42 — involve situations of abuse and manipulation.
First example: the tunic and the cloak (v. 40)
To understand this example, the background of the Law of Moses is essential. In Exodus 22:26–27, the Law stipulated that if someone took a neighbor’s garment as a pledge for a debt, it had to be returned by sundown, because it was the only covering the person had to sleep through the night. It was an act of mercy built into the Law itself to protect the most vulnerable.
The Lord Jesus says: if someone wants to take your tunic through a lawsuit, give him your cloak as well. The cloak held an even greater value than the tunic, as it was not merely an outer garment but the covering used to shelter oneself from the cold at night. In other words, the Lord is saying: give everything; keep nothing — not even what you have every legal right to retain.
At first glance this appears to be an unjust tolerance of injustice. But it is not. The Lord is not endorsing the injustice; He is proposing a learning exercise. When a believer clings to his possessions, his rights, and what legitimately belongs to him, he closes the door on learning to love God. God permits these situations — even unjust ones — as tests designed so that, by facing them with a spirit of willing and joyful surrender, men and women may genuinely and progressively learn to love Him.
Second example: the mile of burden (v. 41)
The context is well known: Roman soldiers had the legal right to compel any Jewish citizen to carry their military equipment for one mile. The Lord says: go with him two. However, the most important part of the teaching is not the number of miles, but the type of burden being carried.
The apostle Paul, in Galatians 6, provides a critical linguistic distinction. In verse 2 he writes: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” In verse 5 he writes: “For each will have to bear his own load.” Both verses use the word “burden,” but in the original Greek they are two entirely different words.
In verse 2, the word is baros: a heavy load, difficult for one person to carry alone, requiring the help of two, three, or more. In verse 5, the word is phortion: a light load that each person can carry perfectly on their own. When the Lord in Matthew 5:41 says “go with him two miles,” He is referring to a baros — heavy, exhausting, the kind that normally should be shared among several people, yet it is being placed on you alone. The Lord’s call is: carry it by yourself, for two miles, without complaint, without resentment. That is going beyond what is required. That is learning to love God.
Third and fourth examples: the one who asks and the one who borrows (v. 42)
The two examples in verse 42 move into different territory: there is no court backing the imposition. What is present is direct abuse and manipulation. The prophet Micah had already described this pattern in the Old Testament: “Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money” (Micah 3:11). Abuse of authority and manipulation are not modern phenomena — they are recorded from the earliest days of God’s people.
The Gospel of Luke presents this same text with a revealing detail: “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back” (Luke 6:30). Luke makes clear that this is not merely a voluntary loan — someone is taking what is yours by force, imposing themselves on you. And the Lord’s instruction is not to expose them publicly or demand restitution. The instruction is: do not refuse them.
The natural man — the one who does not live by faith in Christ Jesus — will react with perfect logic: he will assert his rights, point out the injustice, and demand respect. But the believer who is learning to love God understands that he is not a citizen of this earthly kingdom. His participation in this world is not measured by how many rights he exercised, but by how much love for God he demonstrated through action.
The danger of asserting your rights
There is a warning implicit in these four examples that must be made explicit: to the degree that a believer asserts his own rights, to that same degree he shuts himself off from the opportunity to learn to love God.
This is not about pretending injustice does not exist. It is about understanding that the believer’s response to injustice reveals the true level of his love for the Lord. If someone takes my tunic and I cling to my cloak; if someone imposes a heavy burden on me and I stop at exactly the required one mile; if I respond to abuse by demanding my rights — then I am placing my possessions, my comfort, and my reputation above my love for God. And the love I proclaim with my lips is exposed for what it really is: theory.
The summary of this instruction is found in Romans 12:19–21:
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:19–21)
Give the cloak. Carry the burden the extra mile. Do not withhold the loan. All of it, with joy and cheerfulness. Not with reluctance. Not with silent resentment. Because if the action exists but the joy is absent, the purpose is lost — and all that remains in the heart is a root of bitterness that destroys from the inside out.
Third Instruction: Do Not Seek Credit or Reward
The third instruction for learning to love God is found in Luke 17:10. The Lord Jesus says:
“So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (Luke 17:10)
This instruction is perhaps the most difficult of the three, precisely because it contradicts one of the most deeply rooted tendencies in human nature — and, sadly, in contemporary religious culture as well: the pursuit of recognition.
The Lord’s teaching is direct: do not seek achievements, do not seek rewards, do not look for a pat on the back or words of encouragement. Do not seek to have your name mentioned publicly for what you gave, for what you did, or for what you sacrificed. Because to the degree that you seek recognition, to that same degree you are exalting yourself rather than the Lord — and what began as service ends up becoming a display of self-love.
The worldly philosophy that has invaded the church
There is a tendency today that has infiltrated many congregations and that, while it has the appearance of sound leadership, is in reality the philosophy of the world introduced into the church. Leadership is told: “You have to motivate your volunteers. You need to recognize their work. You have to give them a pat on the back from time to time, a word of encouragement — otherwise, they lose motivation.”
This teaching does not come from the Word of God. It comes from the world, which has slipped inside the church wearing religious clothing. And the visible result is that within many congregations there are men and women willing to work, to serve, and to give — but only if there is a plaque with their name on it, a public recognition, or a chair with their family’s name engraved on the back. When that recognition does not come, resentment, complaint, and bitterness follow.
That is not love for God. It is self-love dressed up as Christian service.
The Old Testament model
The most eloquent contrast is found in the construction of the tabernacle. When God instructed Moses to call the people to bring offerings for the building of the sanctuary, the call was specific: only those with a generous heart were to bring an offering. There were no donor lists. No commemorative plaques. No diplomas or certificates of recognition. The response was so overwhelming that Moses had to go out and tell the people: “Stop. Bring no more. What we have is more than enough.”
Why that result? Because they did it out of love. Not for credit. Not for reputation. Not for recognition. Simply out of love for the Lord who had redeemed them. That is the model. That is the standard.
Resentment: the sign of a misdirected love
One of the most telling expressions of theoretical love is resentment toward God. It is sometimes heard plainly and sometimes felt in the silence of the heart: “Look at how much I’ve served. Look at everything I’ve given. Look at how I’ve sacrificed. And God doesn’t give me what I ask for. How can this be?”
That complaint is not the voice of love; it is the voice of a merchant. It is the mindset of someone who serves expecting something in return. And when the expected reward does not arrive, the unspoken contract — which should never have existed — feels broken, and the result is bitterness.
When the Lord says “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty,” He is not humiliating the believer. He is freeing him. He is freeing him from the trap of merit, from the expectation of reward, from the bondage of needing others’ recognition. He is saying: do not serve in order to receive something in return. Serve because you love Him. And if you love Him, what you did has already fulfilled its highest purpose: it brought you closer to Him.
The Three Instructions: A Summary
The Lord has given us three precise instructions for learning to love God. Together they form a path of progressive learning that cannot be traveled in theory — it must be walked out through daily action.
First instruction (Matthew 16): Deny yourself. The person who does not deny himself is not capable of taking up the cross, much less of following Jesus. Self-denial is the non-negotiable starting point.
Second instruction (Matthew 5:40–42): Strive to do more than what is required of you — with joy, with gladness, with cheerfulness. Do not view the injustice as an obstacle; understand it as an opportunity God has allowed so that you may learn to love Him through action. Do not stop at the minimum limit; go further. Give the cloak too. Carry the heavy burden the extra mile. Give even when there is abuse.
Third instruction (Luke 17:10): Do not seek credit, merit, or reward. Do everything you have been commanded, and then say: “I am an unworthy servant; I have only done what was my duty.” Do not serve so that others may see. Do not measure your love for God by what you receive in return.
There is a question these three instructions leave open before every reader — the same one the Lord asked Peter by the Sea of Tiberias: “Do you love Me?” Not as a declaration. Not as a feeling. But as the question that demands a response of action, surrender, going beyond, and serving without seeking reward.
“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 10:12)
Now we know what it means to love Him. The question each one of us must answer is: How much of all this am I willing to embrace?
Review Questions
- Why can love for God not be reduced to feelings, emotions, or verbal declarations? What specific elements of this teaching support that claim?
- The name Isaac means “laughter.” How does that meaning communicate the attitude with which God expects the believer to go beyond what is required? What practical difference does that attitude make?
- The apostle Paul uses two different Greek words for “burden”: baros and phortion. How does this distinction enrich our understanding of the mile example in Matthew 5:41? What does it add to the Lord’s call?
- The four examples in Matthew 5:40–42 all involve real injustice — whether through a court ruling or through abuse. Why does the Lord not call the believer to denounce the injustice, but instead to respond with generosity and surrender? What does that response reveal about the nature of love for God?
- How does the pursuit of recognition, reward, or merit hinder the development of genuine love for God? How does the attitude of the people who built the tabernacle contrast with what is commonly seen in congregations today?
- The Lord says in Luke 17:10: “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.” In what sense is this declaration liberating for the believer, rather than discouraging?
- Reflect honestly on your own life: in which of the three instructions — denying yourself, going beyond with joy, or serving without seeking credit — do you find the greatest difficulty? What is one concrete change you could begin making this week?
Leave a comment