Matthew 22:34-40

“When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 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 greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

–In this scripture, the Pharisees tested Jesus with a question about love.

We face love questions all the time that challenge how we live out our faith.

Do we love?

Why do we love?

How do we love?

Jesus’ answer gave us the model, “…love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Secondly, “…love your neighbor as yourself.”

The latter kind of love cannot come without the former. To love God with ALL, we have to surrender our pride and self-will. We also have to believe in and receive God’s love for us.

In our expressions of love to others, we show our love for God.

This scripture calls us all to draw deeper into love; love for God and love for others.

(On another note, as soon as I finished writing this, I went to a meeting where this was the scripture. So, I needed this more than anyone else today)

Blessings and Love,

Don

Reference: New Revised Standard Version of The Holy Bible. New York: Oxford Unity Press, 1989.

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