Oftentimes we build a framework for what today is going to look like and how this week and this month will go, but we’re never promised that everything will stay stable like that. Everything can change in an instant – and that’s okay because none of it is out of God’s control. He is still on the throne and we can still be at peace. But it makes you stop and think, and it gives some perspective on life.
One day, we will all be in a situation when this life comes to a close. What will seem important to you on that day? What things that you previously thought were important will now seem unimportant? Life is short – so what is the most important thing?
The Greatest Commandment
In Mark 12, a scribe comes up to Jesus and asks, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?” (v. 28). Jesus answers that we should love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (v. 30). Of all the commandments given to Israel, loving God is the greatest. We are commanded to love God with our motivations and desires, our identity, our thoughts, and our abilities. He commands us to love him with everything.
Then Jesus gives another commandment: to love everyone around us like we love ourselves (v. 31). The desires that we have for ourselves in our own situations are the same desires we should have for other people. The instincts that we have for our own needs we should also feel toward others. We are commanded to live as if our nervous systems extended beyond us into everyone else.
The Response
The scribe responds to Jesus’ answer with agreement, and all the people standing around respond with silence. What is our response? In light of the fact that the greatest commandment is to love God, what are you going to do?
First, we need to realize that we can’t live up to God’s primary commandment without supernatural help. That’s why we need a Savior. We need to confess and repent where we have fallen short and ask God to forgive us through Jesus Christ. The amazing thing is that he will do it! And in the process, he gives us a new heart that is capable of loving him and loving others the way he commands.
Second, we need to acknowledge that this is a wonderful calling. We often settle for so much less than what God has planned for us. Our purpose is to love God. There is only one most important thing we can devote our lives to, and that is loving God. This is what keeps us together and makes us whole, so that when things go wrong, we won’t be fragmented into a million pieces. We can still love God, and that keeps us whole.
What is the most important thing? That is a good question to ask at Christmas time because this is when we celebrate the one who not only knows the answer, but enables us to live according to it.
Response Starters
- Read Mark 12:28-34 together and talk about what stood out to you.
- What is the main point of this passage?
- a. What things might we be tempted to love more than God?
b. What does loving something more than God look like? - Have you confessed your sins to God and accepted his forgiveness through Jesus Christ?
- How do we live in light of God’s commandments to love him and love others?
