“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 12:30-31 ESV).
A Jewish scribe came to Jesus asking which commandment He thought to be the most important. Jesus answered that that the most important was to love God and to love one another. His answer summarizes the Ten Commandments. For if we love God, we will keep the first five commandments and if we love our neighbor, we will keep the last five.
However the problem we have is that our sin nature prevents us from loving God and neighbor with all our being. We are conflicted and selfish at heart. We are sinners. Yet, to those who receive Jesus, the love of God is poured out. Jesus gives us His love for God and others. When we abide in Christ, we have the kind of unconditional love that follows God’s commands, not as rule-keepers, but from a new and changed heart.
Love is the most important commandment. For as the apostle John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have shown Your love for us by giving us Your only begotten Son, Jesus. Your love has saved us and changed us, so that we are able to love You and others as You have loved us. Help us to demonstrate that love today in all our relationships. In Jesus’ name, amen.