Our scripture this morning is Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT).
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 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.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
While those who asked this question had a devious purpose (trying to trap Jesus by His response), He turned the situation around on them and taught them about priorities. Loving God is the most important thing and loving each other right behind it. Bishop Scott Jones used to call this “keeping the main thing the main thing”, something humans are not always careful about.
Christian author Brennan Manning says we become like the Pharisees who questioned Jesus when we “make the secondary primary and the primary secondary.” Following the rules without love for God or one another does not enrich our spirit or bring us closer to salvation. Without love, the rules are merely checklists to complete.
If we concentrate on loving and sharing God’s word, we can avoid the lure of worldly things that lead us astray. My faith phrase is “love God, love neighbor, make disciples”, a combination of the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission. We need to focus on what is important and not be distracted from our call.
Loving Lord, help us to see what is truly important in Your kingdom, our connection to You and each other. Bless us to be energetic disciples, sharing Your love and light with the world. Amen.
