The Greatest Of All Time

Lately, we have been hearing people talk about the GOAT, the Greatest of All Time. Mostly, we have heard it about sports figures, but it is applied to other areas, also. That is a pretty big claim to make about anybody or anything. It definitely gets our attention when someone has this title given to them. In a way Jesus used this type of expression to answer the question of a scribe of His day, when he asked Jesus about the "foremost commandment." Jesus gave him a very clear answer. (Mark 12:29-31) He told the scribe that the foremost commandment was "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your mind and with all of your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." Pretty clear, isn't it?

How much do we love the Lord and how much do we love our neighbor? That is what God is looking to see. One day, we will come before the Lord for a time of Judgment, and we will give an account of all that we did in our life. I believe, based on what Jesus said, that a lot of that time we will be asked to tell the Lord about our love for Him and others. If we failed to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, He will ask us why? What could possibly be more important than that? If we failed to love others, as we love ourselves, He will ask us to give our reasons. I don't believe there will be any reasons for us not to have done both of these commandments. I pray we will all make this our focus each day, and we will remember that love is more than a feeling. It is a choice to put the other person ahead of ourselves, and to meet their needs first, before our own.

#NHBaptistdotorg

Tomorrow, I intend to read Mark 13-15.