The First and Greatest Commandment
Jesus replied, " 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
— Matthew 22:37–38
Some years ago, around three hundred whales were found marooned on a beach. Scientists speculated that the whales had been chasing sardines and became trapped in shallow water when the tide went out.
Now that's an amazing thing. By chasing little sardines, these gigantic creatures were ultimately led to their doom.
Many people waste their lives chasing sardines, so to speak. They major on the minors and have no clear focus or objective in mind.
But God tells us what should be the primary goal of every Christian. If we can get our priorities straight in this area, everything else will come together. In fact, if we can get these two principles operating in our lives, then all the commandments of God will become a natural outflow of our commitment to Him.
What are these principles? One,
" 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind' " (Matthew 22:37); and two, " 'Love your neighbor as yourself' " (verse 38).
When Jesus spoke these words, He was identifying what should be the focus of every person. Essentially, He was saying that love is the basis for all obedience. If you really love God, then you will naturally want to do the things that please Him.
It has been said, "If you aim at nothing, you are bound to hit it." What is your highest priority in life? What are your goals?
We all channel our energies and passions and thoughts toward something in life. What is it for you?
4 comments:
Hey Jen, Thursday nights at about 7pm would be good for me. I don't get off work until 5:30. I have a friend from my BLG, Kara Jansen that might be interested. Here is the link to her blog: http://jansenjunction.blogspot.com. Thanks!
me again :)...here is a link to some book ideas if we want to read through a book together in the group (not all of these apply, it was just a keyword search): http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find?Ntk=keywords&Ntt=infertility&action=Search&N=0&Ne=0&event=ESRCN&nav_search=1&cms=1&Go.x=8&Go.y=15
Jen...thanks for the comment. I have just been so busy and yet not (I know...it doesn't make sense). Anyway, I was just thinking about you like 5 minutes ago and wondering how you were with school as a teacher and a student. I hope I can see you soon!
Ah...I just remembered what I came on here to say. I was looking at your profile...I didn't know you liked Indelible Grace and Sarah McCracken (I know I misspelled both of those, sorry). Have you ever heard Red Mountain Church?
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