READ
REFLECT
In the Bible, Jesus calls the greatest commandment to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and to love thy neighbor as thyself.
By stating this as the greatest commandment, Jesus reminds us that a wholehearted, passionate, and all-encompassing love should characterize our relationship with God. It’s a call to recognize that God deserves nothing less than our complete devotion and allegiance.
But Christ didn’t stop there. He immediately added another commandment that He regarded critically important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus quotes from Leviticus 19:18, a verse highlighting the significance of treating others with love, kindness, and respect. This instruction to love our neighbors echoes the principle of selfless love that God desires from us.
As believers, our love for God should be absolute. We should love Him, His Word, share it with others, and help build His kingdom here on earth.
Imagine a lamp, carefully crafted and positioned in the center of a darkened room. Its light casts away the shadows, revealing the beauty that was once hidden. Similarly, our love for God acts as a guiding light, dispelling the darkness of doubt, fear, and sin. It shines brightly, not only in our personal relationship with Him but also in our interactions with others.
When we wholeheartedly embrace God, we become like lamps that not only receive light but also emanate it. His love fills us to the brim, and we become vessels of His compassion, grace, and mercy. We carry the flame of His gospel wherever we go, sharing it with those who are lost, hurting, and in need.
May our devotion for Christ be the glowing lamp that illuminates our lives, radiating His light and transforming the world around us for the better.
RESPOND
1. Commit Leviticus 19:18 to memory.
