“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39
We like to make things complicated, but Jesus makes things simple: love God with every part of your being all the time and love literally everyone you encounter as you love yourself. It’s clear, concise, and comprehensive. All of us, all people, all the time.
But it certainly isn’t easy! To love God with all our heart, soul, and mind when those parts would really rather love ourselves is a huge challenge and won’t happen by accident. It requires discipline developed from really knowing and seeking the Lord through Jesus Christ. It requires an active choice for God no matter what pops up, no matter what situation we’re in, no matter how much we might disagree with God’s plans. It requires focus, determination, and yes, genuine love!
Loving our neighbors can be even harder, because they can so unlovable. That’s the point, it doesn’t matter who they are, we need to love them anyway, just as God loves us no matter who we are! We must love our neighbors because they were created in God’s image just like us. Period.
It can be easy for Christians to emphasize one of these at the expense of the other: either claiming to love God but not really caring about those He created in His image, or busily loving people and using that as an excuse to reimagine God and not love Him as He is. Neither of these is an option – as followers of Christ, we must diligently obey both these commandments!
#FOLLOWJESUS
NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on February 3, 2020.