When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was by the religious leaders of his day, he quoted to them this verse from Deuteronomy. Why would Jesus say that the greatest commandment or instruction or set of directions is to love God with everything that we have? The answer is very simple, God doesn’t care how good you are at blindly following rules and forcing others to do the same. God instead only requires that you love him with everything that you have and that you then love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said it this way when speaking about the religious leaders of his day in the week leading up to crucifixion: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel.” (Matthew 23:23-24 NIV). God is not interested in your blind following of a set of rules and regulations, rather God wants you to love him and out of that love choose to obey him and in turn love those around you.
Verse of the Day 2-5-21
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