Monday, April 7, 2025

Listen to the Word

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.”  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Jesus says that the commands to love God and neighbor are basically the Cliffs Notes version of the Old Testament. “All the law and the prophets hang on these two.” He says when you take “don’t worship idols” and “don’t kill” and “don’t steal” and “don’t lie” and “don’t commit adultery” and “honor your father and mother” and “care for widows and orphans” and “give to the needy” and all of the other instructions in Scripture, and you add them all up, the total comes to “love God and love people.”

If you follow these greatest commandments, the rest of God’s relationship requirements will basically take care of themselves. If you want to follow God’s guidelines in your interactions with him and with people, you don’t have to memorize hundreds of rules to know how to do that. You just need to love him completely and love your neighbors selflessly.

Live the Word

Write two tasks at the top of your to-do list today: “Love God” and “Love people.”