A few days ago in church, Brad Bell taught some Bible.
The Greatest Commandment
“You shall love The Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus at this time was speaking to a huge group of religious people. He was talking to the pharisees, sadducees, Herodians, and other officials of religion. These groups all had one thing in common: they all loved God or had some semblance of devotion to loving God. They must have felt pretty secure when Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God. Brad said that he imagines Jesus laughing to himself at this point, because Jesus continues with “Love your neighbor as yourself.” None of these groups had done that.
The Point
So, Brad’s point was that without love of others, we cannot know the love of God that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 22:37. Loving God only is not enough.
“But who is my neighbor?”
Jesus says in the last verses of Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Jesus didn’t specify a specific group to make disciples out of. So who is your neighbor? Well, it is everyone you meet. It is every interaction you have. Going to the Home Depot? Make a disciple. Going to a coffee shop? Make a disciple. Going crazy? Make a disciple!
Today, Love God and love others. Don’t use your faith as an intellectual safeguard just so you don’t go to Hades, share it!
