And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that He answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”  

And the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher.  You have truly said that He is one, and there is no other besides Him.  And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

–Mark 12:28-33 (esv)

I was thinking about these verses today and began to wonder: Do we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength?  Do we love our neighbor as ourself?  Or do we merely offer burnt offerings and sacrifices?  What do we witness to the world in our speech and through our actions?

For the servant, completing a task can be drudgery.  It’s hard work.  It’s tedious.  It’s a pain!  But for the betrothed offering a gift to her beloved, it’s a joy, an honor, a gift in and of itself—it’s love put into action!  Even for the friend serving his friend out of loyalty, faithfulness and affection, the completion of each act of devotion can be beautiful.

Imagine someone sacrificed something incredible to be a true friend to you.  Would you consider it hard, costly or anything amazing if you sacrificed something relatively small for their sake, when opportunity arose?  Would you say, “Wow—this was hard, and a huge sacrifice, but I hope it honors them and what they did for me!” 

Or would you perhaps respond as Hudson Taylor did after giving up earthly comfort and leaving loved ones, risking his life and injuring his health, and losing his wife and several children while serving the One who had first sacrificed so much for him: “I never made a sacrifice.”

Is it all love—love from the depth of a fully devoted, betrothed and honored heart, soul, mind and strength?  Or is it burnt offerings and sacrifices, to you?  Do you advertise your accomplishments and their difficulty to the world?  Or do you love and only take notice when His Eyes meet yours?  Do you love Him?

Copyrighted material, used with permission.