Friday, January 22, 2016

January 23, 2016

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27

So what?

Why should I be concerned about loving people to life?

What would happen if I don’t?

How will I know whether I do or not?

Those are significant questions aren’t they?

In answer to a question from Jesus, a Jewish lawyer quoted this great commandment and in giving this answer addressed each of these questions I posed.

Why should I be concerned about loving people to life?

Because that’s what people do who truly love God. If you love God you will love others to life.

What happens if I don’t love others to life?

If you don’t love others it’s because you don’t love God. If you don’t love God you haven’t been loved to life and you cannot love others.

Jesus said to this lawyer, “Do this (love God and others) and you will live.” Or, you can imply the opposite, “You won’t live if you don’t love God and others.”

How will I know whether I do or not?

I think I answered that didn’t I? When you love God fully you will love others faithfully. If you don’t, you won’t.

It’s clear that just knowing what we should do isn’t enough. Knowing what to do doesn’t mean we will do it. This man knew how he should love but he was only interested in trying to justify himself before Jesus.

The big “so what” in life is loving God with all your being and giving all that you know about yourself to all that you understand about Him.

Loving Him like that allows Him to love you to life.

Loving Him like that enables you to love others to life.

That’s what!