Mark 12:28-31
One of the teachers of the Law of
Moses came up while Jesus and the Sadducees were arguing. When he heard
Jesus give a good answer, he asked him, “What is the most important
commandment?”
Jesus answered, “The most important one says:
‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. You must love him
with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ The second most
important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’
No other commandment is more important than these.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
If
you have watched national news at all in recent months (or any time,
for that matter), you have heard reporters ask someone – especially
politicians – a direct question…and the person replies with an answer
that is totally about something else. Sometimes, the reporters will
even ask…”Why won’t you answer my question?” And the short answer is
that the politician or other person doesn’t want to address that
particular issue. They want to divert attention and make the discussion
about something else entirely.
So when the religious scholar
asked Jesus to list the most important commandment, it’s likely he
thought that Jesus would change the subject…or redirect the conversation
to something else. But Jesus boldly and clearly answered. He made no
bones about telling everyone within earshot that we only have one Lord
and God…that the most important commandment is to love Him with all our
heart, soul, mind, and strength. He added that the second most
important commandment is to love others as much as we love ourselves.
I’d
say Jesus knows us pretty well, doesn’t He? Jesus knows that 99.9% of
us operate in the “What’s-in-it-for-me?” realm…and He clearly told us
that the Number One question is supposed to be
“What’s-in-it-for-God?”…followed closely by “What can I do for the other
guy?” So we have some work to do! It’s not exactly easy to shift the
focus from ourselves sometimes. And the devil will do everything he can
to see that we stay bogged down in selfish thinking.
But I have
learned that the more I focus on God…the more I focus on myself. The
more I love Him and seek ways to hear from Him and to serve Him…the less
I care about whether I get anything out of it or not. I’m not totally
“there” yet…but I’m working hard to get closer. When our focus is on
loving God…loving others is easier - and there is no need to change the
subject. Who is on your heart and mind today…and what is the Number One
commandment for YOU?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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