Source sequence 68 of 85

Love God and Love Your Neighbor

Obedience and teaching, Judgment and discernment, Discipleship, Church relationships, Love

Scripture

Primary passage

Matthew 22:34–40

34 But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Primary passage · World English Bible

Mark

Mark 12:28–31

28 One of the scribes came and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The greatest is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 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 The second is like this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Unreviewed grouped account · World English Bible

The command

Hear what Jesus commands.

Love the one God with your whole being and love your neighbor as yourself.

In context

Hear the whole passage.

Asked to identify the greatest command, Jesus joins wholehearted covenant love for God to active neighbor-love as the framework of the Law and Prophets.

What this reveals

What this reveals about God.

Jesus forms integrated people whose worship, thought, strength, desire, and relationships are ordered by love.

Practice this command

Take one concrete step.

Choose one practice of attention toward God and one concrete act for a neighbor's good; complete both as expressions of the same love.

Discuss

Talk about it.

Where do love for God and love for neighbor become separated in your life, and what does Jesus join back together?

Pray

Pray this.

One God, gather our whole hearts, souls, minds, and strength into love for you, and teach us to love our neighbors faithfully.

Teach

Teach it simply.

Teach the two commandments together; devotion that neglects neighbors and activism detached from love of God both become distorted.

Continue in the original collection

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