Discipleship Rubric · sourced from tothelord.com

1. Love God

Matthew 22:37–38 · (Mt 22:37; Lk 10:25–28; Lk 10:38–42)

Teachings for obedience a believer should Know, Understand, and Do — laid out across four levels of maturity. Everything below is drawn from tothelord.com's "Ministry TO the Lord" (M2L) material.

“This obedience is always in love.” — George Patterson · the aim is encountering Jesus and growing in intimacy, not cerebral knowledge (Mt 22:37–38; Jn 17:3)

Love God is first & greatest — everything flows from it.

Know

Remembering what God says, as recorded in the Bible. (Lk 10:26)

Understand

Comprehending what that knowledge means in your situation. (Lk 10:26)

Do

Implementing in your life what you know and understand — obey God. (Lk 10:28)

Not a ladder to climb in order. Development is not strictly sequential: a person may show evidence across several levels at once, and may be maturing in one Know–Understand–Do area while still new in another. Look across the whole grid, celebrate every evidence of growth wherever it appears, and strengthen the weakest or missing areas — rather than gating advancement level by level.

Held in love: voluntary and self-owned, discerned without condemnation; celebrate an honest “not yet” as much as growth. Nothing here is a score or a rank.

Guard & scope: we assess only Christ's command to love Him — the what, never a particular manner. The practices below (stillness, journaling, the Temple Pattern, a daily cadence, the diagnostic) are apostolic-style helps, freely chosen — never required, never scored as greater maturity. This sheet is a trainer's reference; what a new disciple actually carries is simply being with God, the Six Encounter Questions, and the stories.

How love for God shows — the whole command

Loving God is the command; it is not one devotional method. It shows in many ways — look for any of them, not a single pattern:

Trust — resting in Him and His word Pr 3:5; Jn 14:1
Wholehearted devotion — He is first; no idols rival Him Dt 6:5; Ex 20:3
Obedience — keeping His commands is itself love for God Jn 14:15; 1 Jn 5:3
Worship & reverence — honoring Him for who He is Ps 29:2; Jn 4:23–24
Delight & joy — treasuring Him above all Ps 37:4; Php 3:8
Prayer & seeking — talking with Him, longing for Him Ps 27:4; 63:1
Gratitude — thankful for who He is and what He's done Ps 100:4; 1 Th 5:18
Love for His people — love of God shown in love of believers 1 Jn 4:20–21
Loving what He loves — mercy, justice, the lost Mic 6:8
Endurance — loving Him through hardship, not falling away Jas 1:12; Rev 2:4

The M2L material below is one deep, valuable way to grow in loving God — not the sole measure of it. A person limited by disability, trauma, attention, caregiving, or hard labor may love God profoundly through trust, obedience, or endurance without any particular devotional cadence. Look for the love, in whatever form the Spirit is growing it.

Source & scope

What tothelord.com covers: the site is a full curriculum for this command — Love God (Mt 22:37) — framed as Ministry TO the Lord (M2L). It treats Love Neighbors (Command 2, Mt 22:39) as the overflow, so a few items point that direction, but its teaching content lives here under Command 1.

What it does not cover: Commands 3–8 (Believe/Repent/Receive, Baptize, Lord's Supper, Pray in the Name of Jesus, Give Generously, Make Disciples) are outside the site's scope and need other sources.

Site pages used: Why · Begin · Practices (27) · Train / Tools