Father, thank You most of all for Your direction and filling in sharing Your word today. Please bless the words that were spoken. May they take root in every heart. Amen.
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On my way home from Columbus this evening, I stopped for a bite of supper at a little Chinese restaurant. After a tasty meal (I enjoy having Kung Pao Chicken on occasion) I opened my Fortune Cookie and here is what it said,
“Everyone needs to be loved, especially those (who) do not deserve it.”
How apropos – especially for a pastor at the end of a Sunday, no less!
I don’t know how this came about to be written on a “fortune” but don’t you think it reflects God’s heart? We know that it surely does but the other, very important, question that we must answer for ourselves is does it reflect our heart?
For some time now, in my public prayers, I have been drawn to include a reference to Mark 12:28-34. After an open debate with some religious leaders, one of them, realizing that Jesus had answered well…asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”
Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. NLT
Well, isn’t that interesting? Not all the religious teachers of Jesus’ day were old bags of wind who were full of themselves! Here is one (and I’m sure there were others) whom Jesus Himself admired as not being far from the Kingdom of God.
That being said, there’s yet another question that we must answer for ourselves, how far are we from the Kingdom of God?
Basically, this religious scholar was saying all the many important things they did in obeying the Law set before them, were nothing if they (and we, mind you!) didn’t love God with the entirety of their being, and loved others as they loved themselves.
The note in the Amplified Bible rings true, as well.
The key to understanding this and other statements about love is to know that this love (the Greek word agape) is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another. (emphasis mine)
From a simple, coincidental (I think not!) fortune to a reality of our life in Christ! May we live it – and not just say or think it! – every day!
Feb 26th, 2023, Sun, 8:16 pm
