A couple of questions caught my attention recently. Jesus asked the first one, “Who do you say I am?” (Yesterday’s Devotion)

The second question occurred in a debate the Sadducees and Teachers were having with Jesus. They were trying to trap Him when they asked Him the question, “What is the most important commandment?

Jesus Answered: “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  [Mark 12:29-31]

There are many people who have latched onto the second part of the great commandment, the part about loving neighbors and then use this to chide anyone who doesn’t agree with their political philosophy. (Their arrows are often aimed at the church.) Where they often fail, however, is to embrace that first part of the commandment that commands all to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Sometimes those who shout the loudest about the second part of the great commandment are the most silent about the first part. You can’t, however, have one without the other.

What is the most important? Both parts are! Our lives are to be living examples of the devotion Jesus had to the Father. He said to do the will of the Father was His meat – meaning what governed and sustained His every word and action. If you want me to heed your words about loving my neighbor better, please show me that you are at least seeking and striving to love the LORD our God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Amen&Amen!