11/29/2024 – The most important thing you have to do today
Mark 12: 28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” 29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
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What is the most important thing you must do today? What is the most important goal you must have in your life? We all carry a mental list with many priorities every day. But our Lord Jesus revealed the first and most important goal for every person: to love God with all our being, and to love others and we love ourselves.
God’s commands reveal what He expects from us. God’s expectations must guide our priorities, and our priority must be love. God does not force us to love Him, but He rightfully deserves our love. After all, He gave us life. God provides everything we need and more. He gave His only son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross in our place.
God also demands that we love all other people as we love ourselves. We tend to be very stingy with the love we give. Most people can count with one hand the people they truly love. The list usually includes our mother, our children, and our closest relationships. But God’s love does not stop there. It extends beyond our natural family. It reaches our neighbors, coworkers, even our enemies.
Sometimes we even find it difficult to love ourselves. How much do you love your life? If you had to make a list of people you love, would your name be on it? When you consider who you are, your circumstances and what you have, what is the response from your heart? For many today, their life is not something they love. They would rather be someone else, somewhere else. The value we place on life as a society has greatly diminished in relation to the value God places on life. God loves life. He loves your life so much that He gave His own son to offer you everlasting life. You must value and love the life God has given you in Christ. He who gets wisdom loves his own soul (Proverbs 19:8)