Are You A Rule Follower?

“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 12:39-40

Are you a rule follower? On Tuesday I was driving back from Monterey and was noticing how many people were failing to obey the speed limit. Whereas the speed limit is posted as 70 miles an hour, most people were exceeding the speed limit.

By Jesus’ time, the Jews had created hundreds of rules for following God. There were so many rules, that some leaders started sorting them into major and minor laws. When asked which was the most important commandment, Jesus answered: “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."

Loving God and loving one another is not always easy. But it means more to Jesus than any religious ritual. It’s more important than how often we take communion, what we wear to church, and which translation of the Bible we read. When Jesus narrowed all the Jewish laws down to two sentences, He wasn’t saying religious practices were bad. He was showing the Jews a better way to honor God.

God loves us. His plan was never to burden us. Every command in the Bible comes down to these two principles: love God and love others. If we focus on fulfilling these two commandments, we’ll find that we’re fulfilling all of God’s commands in the process.

Thought For Today: What does it mean to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul? What’s one way you can love others this week?

Today’s Prayer Focus: Praise God for his love for you. Ask God to give you a deeper love for Him this year and show you how to express His love to others. Deo Volente.