Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

February 4
Tuesday


AN IMPORTANT
COMMAND

READ:
MARK 12:28-34
________________________________________________________________________________________

You shall love the
LORD your God with
all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your
mind and with all your
strength. __Mark 12:30
_________________________________________________________________________________________

When asked by a lawyer to identify the most important rule in life, Jesus replied "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). In those words Jesus summed up what God most desires from us.

I wonder how I can possibly learn to love God with all my heart, soul, and mind. Neal Plantinga remarks on a subtle change in this commandment as recorded in the New testament. Deuteronomy charges us to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength (6:5). Jesus added the word mind. Plantinga explains, "You shall love God with everything you have and everything you are. Everything."

That helps us change our perspective. As we learn to love God with everything, we begin to see our difficulties as "our light and momentary troubles" __just as the apostle Paul described his grueling ordeals. He had in mind a "far more exceeding and eternal...glory" (2 Cor. 4:17).

In the advanced school of prayer, where one loves God with the entire soul, doubts and struggles do not disappear, but their effect on us diminishes. "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19), and our urgent questions recede as we learn to trust His ultimate goodness. __Philip Yancey

`````````````Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
```````````````Now Thee alone I seek; give what is best.
``````````````````````This all my prayer shall be:
``````````````More love, O Christ, to Thee. __Prentiss
_______________________________________________________________________________________
The most treasured gift we can give to God is one that
He can never force us to give__our love.

****************************************Today's Bible Reading __ Mark 12:28-34********************************

28 Then one of the scribes
came, and having heard
them reasoning together,
perceiving that He had
answered them well, asked
Him, "Which is the first
commandment of all?"

29 Jesus answered him,
"The first of all the
commandments is: 'Hear,
O Israel, the LORD our God,
the LORD is one. 30 And you
shall love the LORD your
God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all
your mind, and with all
your strength.' This is the
first commandment. 31 And
the second, like it, is this:
'You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.' There
is no other commandment
greater than these."

32 So the scribe said to
Him, "Well said, Teacher.
You have spoken the truth,
for there is one God, and
there is no other but He.

33 And to love Him with all
the heart, with all the
understanding, with all the
soul, and with all the
strength, and to love one's
neighbor as oneself, is more
than all the whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices."

34 Now when Jesus saw
that he answered wisely, He
said to him, "You are not
far from the kingdom of
God." But after that no one
dared question Him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Many Bible scholars believe that Mark's gospel record was written
primarily to a Roman audience. Part of the reason for this view is
rooted in the fast-paced presentation of the story of Jesus with a
focus on action and movement. Also contributing to this thinking is
Mark's occasional parenthetical explanations of Jewish practices that
would likely have been foreign to the people of Rome. One example
is seen in Mark 7:3-4, where the ceremonial washing of hands is
described.