“Jesus said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” Matthew 22:37-40
When Jesus was asked what the great commandment in God’s law was, He said it was to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and mind and then to love one’s neighbor as himself. Indeed, “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10). If we love God with all our being, we will gladly and willingly obey His commandments from the heart — putting nothing before Him, honoring His name, and hearing His Word. If we love our neighbor as ourselves, we will not disobey parents and authorities, hurt or kill, commit adultery or fornication, steal, dishonor or slander, or even covet what belongs to our neighbor. Our failure to obey God’s holy commandments reveals our lack of love for God and our neighbor.
Forgive me, O God, for failing to love you and my neighbor and keep Your holy commandments. Pardon my sins for the sake of Jesus Christ’s holy life and His innocent sufferings and death in my stead. Amen.
[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]