A teacher of the law asked Jesus a question. "What is it all about? Boil it down. What is the greatest commandment?"
I was talking with some great Woods Chapel guys the other night. There are a lot of questions about life and the Christian faith. Sometimes we get stuck on what we don't know, stuck on things that we will never know. We cannot answer every question, but Jesus answered the most important one.
What is the greatest commandment. Boil it down. Tell me what you know. Jesus, what are you trying to teach us? What is the greatest commandment?
Jesus answered, "love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength. The second is like the first......love your neighbor as yourself." Then he added: "on this hangs all the law and the prophets."
Think about what he is saying. All of the law and the prophets hang on these two simple commandments. Get them right and everything else will follow. All of the doctrine, all of the questions, all of the things that we worry about in relation to our faith are all secondary to the one basic principle: love.
God is love. Love the Lord. Love your neighbor. Get that part down. The rest will follow. Everything else hangs on our assimilating these truths.
Don't feel like a good Christian? Go back to the basics. Love God, love your neighbor. Apply it to every area of your life. That is enough. It is the greatest commandment. Everything turns on our ability to love.
Its a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
