Saturday, November 3, 2018

Why Is It The Greatest?

Matthew 22: 35-40

A lawyer asked Him a question, testing Him: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? 

And He said to Him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets. 

It really is all about Love! We are to love God and love our neighbor. God loves what He made, and He wants us to love Him back and to love what He loves--mainly our neighbor. 

This is God's primary purpose for us while we live here. When we love Him, we won't pray to anyone but Him as God, we will reverence His Being as God, and we will respect His authority over us as Lord (Boss).

And when we love one another we won't want to kill our neighbor or sleep with his partner, or lie to him. We won't want to even think a negative thought about him, and want the very best for him regardless of the cost to us. 

This is how God loves us: He gave His very best, His most precious--His own Son--so that His Blood could wash us whiter than snow, fit to live with Him in His perfect Heaven. He loves us that much. 

All the Laws and all the Prophets' prophesies are all based on that Love God has for us: to accept responsibility for our failure to love Him and each other, and accept His love in sending His Son to take our death upon Himself so that His Blood would wash away every stain. That's the central purpose for it all. 

Secondary to that is to show us how to cooperate with how He designed this Earth to work. When we cooperate with the way He made it to operate, then we will realize the benefits He put here for us, and we will be able to enjoy them. 

When we love one another to show acceptance and compassion for our neighbor, even if we haven't met them yet; and strive to meet their needs in a way that is profitable for them and worth an affordable price--then our businesses to support us financially will benefit all of us. This is God's way. 

And we will attribute to our gracious Lord God all the credit, all the glory, all the honor for designing it such and teaching us how to operate it His way. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!