“Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”” – Mark 12:29-31
Very little needs to be said here. Jesus is crystal clear about what’s most important. Yet, despite its simplicity and clarity, we’re not very good at obeying this Great Commandment!!!
Jesus showed us what it looks like to obey. By His life, ministry, and sacrificial death, Jesus showed us what total love for God and neighbor looks like. It looks like love (and obedience) to God that takes priority over love of family, love of country, love of tradition, love of preference, love of comfort, love of safety, love of money, love of career, love of politics, love of party, and love of social status. God must truly come first!
Jesus showed us what love of neighbor looks like. It looks like compassion, care, contact, and counsel for the sick, the disgraced, the outcast, the outsider, the immigrant, the poor, the sinful, the shameful, the despised. It looks like love that transcends all cultural boundaries, racial boundaries, and social boundaries.
Jesus showed us what to do. He told us this was most important. And yet, we still stumble and fall in these matters, focusing instead on a thousand other issues without getting these right. First, things first. Let us love God and love neighbor every hour of every day.