“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
When Jesus was asked which is the great commandment in God’s law, 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 fulfilling 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, and our sinfulness.
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 innocent sufferings and death in my stead. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]