It seems to be a natural inclination of ours to try to get God to specify just how much 'we have to do.' Not wanting to go beyond the letter of the Law, we join with the Pharisee who asked Jesus, "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.'
Jesus' answer simply reveals that the whole law of God, as well as each individual law, is dead without 'love to God and neighbour' lying behind it and within it. Confronted with this simple, yet profound reality, we must realise our inability to live up to this great commandment. Even the bare minimum is too much for us to do ourselves.
This recognition leads us to our Saviour, who loved us and God perfectly by giving up His life for our salvation.
How do we then love God and neighbour? We'll be thinking this through this coming Sunday.
God's peace,
Pastor Matt
