Bible Reading: Matthew 22:34-40
Key Verse: Verses 37 & 39 – “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (vs. 37) And second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour thyself.” (vs.39)
Key Words: Thou shalt love
The Pharisees and religious leaders never seem to learn. They continue to attempt to “catch” Jesus with His message but this time they brought a lawyer in to question Jesus. The lawyer asked, “Master (at least he realized some authority of Jesus), which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus responds by giving the greatest two commandments. First, He says, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5, “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Secondly, quoting from Leviticus 19:18, “…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Jesus doesn’t stop there. He goes on to say, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:40)
Charity never fails (I Corinthians 13:8). Years ago, Thad Endicott was our Associate Pastor. Thad worked with our youth and music primarily; but I depended heavily on Thad for a number of things, just as I lean heavily on our current Associate, Matt Bookout. One day Thad came to me concerned about a particular young person with whom he had been dealing. The young person was troubled and resistant, to say the least. As we were talking, Thad made a statement that I will remember until my dying day. It has impacted my life and how I approach others. He simply said, “If love never fails, then I must be failing to love.”
Think about that statement for a moment. If love never fails, then did I fail to love my children with God’s love? If love never fails, then are others failing to see my love for them and for God? When I preach, can they see and hear my love for God and for them? When I respond to parents or students, can they sense the love of God coming through my words? When I respond to emails or on Facebook, am I turning people away from God or to Him? Because charity (love) never fails.
✞ Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself because love never fails
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