MARK 12:28-34 – 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?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 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.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 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. 33 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.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

THEME OF THE DAY. LIFE’S GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY AND PRIVILEGE. It should not take much time for Christians to answer the theme of the day. It appears in today’s scripture, but just a few questions would take us to the correct answer. Let’s do that together . . . what is the purpose of Jesus coming to earth to be our Savior? What is the original purpose of man’s creation? What brings great delight to the heart of God? What satisfies our heart like nothing or no one else? The answer to all those questions, and establishing for us life’s greatest responsibility and privilege, is obeying the two greatest commands – Loving God and loving people. And this love toward God and people is both a responsibility and privilege.

First, loving God and people is a responsibility because it is a command. This is not to be taken lightly. We live in a culture which does not know true love. Just look at the carnage all around us of relationships that are now fractured, abandoned, or strained. These same relationships once existed between people who said, “I love you”, yet, that proved not to be true when they ended. God’s love defined in God’s Word is a love that endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). To give up in a relationship that once boasted of love shows a lack of understanding and commitment to true love as defined by God. And by God giving us the command to love Him and people, He is showing us that love is not based on fleeting emotions, outward beauty, feelings or circumstances. Yes, God’s love to us is affectionate. And we are to show affectionate love to Him and people, but first and foremost, God’s love to us is volitional. It is an act of the will. So is our love to Him and people. The will is the part of us that obeys God. It does include our minds and heart, but it is the will that moves us to love. When it comes to obeying God’s commands, the will is the final part that manifests our obedience. If we are to exercise life’s greatest responsibility, loving God and people, we must be gripped by a sense of responsibility to obey God’s command to love by our will, not feelings.

Next, loving God and people is a privilege because it is the greatest gift God has given us. And that gift? The power and desire to love as He loves. Think with me on the work of the Gospel in our lives. It doesn’t just save us from our sins. It reconciles us to the God who is love. In this reconciliation, we are given the ability to do what we could not do outside of Christ – love God and people as He commands and desires. And if we rightly understand the Gospel and what it has done to us, we will see clearly that life’s greatest privilege is to love, first God, then people.

So, are we living our life’s greatest responsibility and privilege; to love God and people? I hope so. After all, that is the whole reason why God so loved the world that He gave His Only Son.

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for enabling and allowing me to love You.”

QUOTE: “The Gospel is how we are able to live life’s greatest responsibility and privilege; loving God and people.”