What is Most Important?

     "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God will all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:  This is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  There is none other commandment greater than these."  Mark 12:29-31

In this passage one of the teachers of religious law questions Jesus as to which is the greatest commandment.  Jesus' response is one with which we are all familiar and boils down basically to love God and love others.  However, there is an essential component that precedes loving God and others that is often overlooked.  It is the realization that there is but one God and that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  You can't love the One True God if you are loving the wrong God.  In a day and age where human reasoning states that there are "many paths to Heaven" and that "God is simply whoever you believe Him to be," it is essential that we get the foundation right.  Jesus quotes a passage from Deuteronomy 6:4, and in that passage God begins by telling the Israelites that first and foremost there is one God.  He is the One True God, and He is not whoever we would have Him to be.  He is the God we are to love with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.

When we get the first part right - Who it is that we are to love, and when we begin to seek Him and love Him with all  heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength, the second part - loving our neighbor - comes a little easier.  That is not to say that it is a walk in the park by any means, but when we truly love God, we do not want to do anything that displeases Him.  As we grow in our love for Him and realize His great love for us, it becomes a little easier to share that same compassion and love with others.

As this passage continues, the teacher of the law agrees with Jesus and goes on to say, "This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law."  To which Jesus responds, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."  Christians today would be nearer to the Kingdom of God if we were less wrapped up in what we "do" for God and more concerned with sitting at His feet.  We must get the foundation right.  Loving God is most important.  It is more important than the things we do for Him.  He does not want our gestures, our rituals, our duties, or our service.  All those things are good, and they have their place in advancing the Kingdom of God here on earth. These are natural responses of our love for Him, but these things are not what He desires most.  What God desires most is us - heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Many times it is easier to give God our acts of service than it is to give ourselves, to sit quietly at His feet and allow His Spirit to speak to our spirit, and to set all of our affections on Him.  May we not forget what matters most.   

Dear Heavenly Father,  I pray that in the midst of all my busyness and service for You and Your Kingdom, I would not forget the most important commandment - to love the One True God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength, and equally important, to love my neighbor as myself.  Help me to set my affections solely upon You.  I pray that my love for You would grow more and more each day.  Help me not to be distracted by the cares of this life or even my Christian duties, but to spend time at Your feet learning of You and growing deeper in love with You.  In Jesus' Mighty Name, Amen.

Eyes of Love

"...Jesus beholding him loved him..."  Mark 10:21

     As I was reading my Bible this morning, this excerpt from Mark jumped out at me.  Did you know when Jesus looks at you, He loves you?  He sees you through eyes of love.  How comforting to know that even with all my faults and numerous shortcomings, He loves me.  The Scripture states that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  There are many times when my thoughts, my motives, my actions, my words do not bring glory and honor to God.  Yet in the messed up state I am in, He loves me still.  Just as I am, He sees me through the eyes of grace.  He is patient with me allowing the Holy Spirit to do a perfecting work in me.

     While it is such a comfort to know God's unconditional love towards us, we would be wise to remember that He looks on others in our lives with that very same love and compassion.  That person who has hurt us, that person with which we find difficulty getting along, that person who just rubs us the wrong way - He looks at them with eyes of love as well.  The same mercy and grace He extends to us, He also holds out to them. When we realize how much we have been forgiven of our sins, it becomes much easier to forgive others of their trespasses against us.  May the Lord help us to extend the love and forgiveness He has so generously bestowed upon us to everyone we encounter.

     Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You, thank You, thank You for all your love and mercy in my life.  Thank You just doesn't seem enough.  Even with all my imperfections and mistakes, You love me.  In the words of Will Reagan, "You see me.  You know me.  And You love me through and through."  How awesome!  How overwhelming!  Help me to realize how great Your grace is in my life and help me to extend that great grace to those I meet.