Matthew 22:34-40
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
In this passage, Jesus explained the highlight of the law to the teachers of the law, as well as all the readers. The everlasting, never-changing calling from God to people is always the same: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might and with all your mind. "With all your heart" means paying attention to what the other person needs. All those who are "in love" would know this; if the person likes flowers, you'll send flowers daily; if the person likes poems, you'll make an effort to write some, even if you end up copying from others. Similarly, we must pay attention to the needs of the Lord whom we love; we need to think about what we need to do in order to please God, and make an effort to do them.
"With all your soul" means pouring out our feeling, just like a lover. If the one you love encounters something exciting, you'd be excited and happy too; if the person encounters something sad, you'd have a heavy heart too. Similarly, God wants us to be happy and sad with Him; when we see the sin of the people of the world, we'd cry with Him; when we see people repent and be saved, we'd be joyful with the angels.
"With all your might" means using everything you've got to love God, including time, money, talents and energy. All these things are from God, so we ought to bring everything before the Lord for Him to use.
"With all your mind" means using our thinking to love God. True love is not blind; so we must do our best in understanding God. We need to read God's word, let is filled our mind, and we'd naturally walk in the path of truth.
Also, we must love our neighbors like we love ourselves. God's will is not for us to simply love Him; if we love God, we will love those whom He loves. Not only should we love to read the Bible, love to pray, but we must love our brothers and sisters. The best testimony from the church is not what we say, nor is it the ceremonies or building on the outside, but the testimony of love. When others see the testimony of us loving one another, they will naturally be drawn before the Lord. Brothers and sisters, can we live out such testimonies in our lives? As long as we love God and love others, we will be able to experience God's faithfulness and abundance in our daily life!
Lord, please give us a soft heart to obey your will. Let your love pour into us from your throne, and draw us closer to you. Let us follow your will so that we may please you, and let those around us benefit from our life as much as possible. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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