We need sustenance that will get us through the trial. We need to be reminded of the fundamental truths we so easily ignore. 

“Christ is the meat, the bread, the food of our souls. Nothing is in him of a higher spiritual nourishment than his love, which we should always desire.” - John Owen

In our text today, a question given to Jesus presses the question regarding what is most important - or “the greatest commandment.” Jesus answers with a well known Old Testament commandment and renews it by adding to it a tangible expression on how to do it. 

Love God Supremely 

Love God - no Jew would disagree with that statement. Of all the obligations the Torah demanded, every rabbi, every scribe, and every priest saw this as essential, above every other obligation in life. 

The Israelites were not commanded to love God simply because of what He had done for them – just as we ought not to love God simply for the gifts and benefits we receive from His hand. Neither are we to love Him simply for His attributes – His infinite wisdom, His unlimited power, His perfect justice, and so on. Rather we are to love Him for who He is. Maturity in our faith is when we understand that we are to love God simply because He is lovely and wonderful, worthy of every creature’s affection.

Reading scripture and prayer are essential to cultivating this love for Jesus. If the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength – then the greatest transgression is the failure to keep this commandment.

Love Others Genuinely 

It is easy to spiritualize the love of God, but Jesus makes it very practical for us. Jesus tells us in our text that the greatest commandment is to love God and if we have any question of what that looks like, then let’s look to the second commandment which “is like it” (verse 39). Loving our neighbor is not a by-product of loving God. It is not just a way to foster a greater love for God. It is the very way in which we love God. To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind is to love our neighbor as ourself. The rest of scripture is hung on these two commandments, unpacking what it means to love God and love people. Jesus tells us very plainly in John 13:34 that He has come to give us a new commandment, to love one another as we have been loved. Scripture is continually pressing us to consider what it means to love God by loving people.

When you love and serve others, you are not only being kind, patient, and gracious - you are offering worship to the Lord. Every relationship, every word spoken to a friend, every thought about another becomes an opportunity to worship the Lord through obedience to the great commandments. We obey because we are loved and our obedience to God takes the shape of Christ’s sacrificial love to one another. The love of God should jar us. 

What if we could emerge from this crisis with a faith that is more solid and more substantive?

Sustenance over sweets.

Discussion Questions

• What does our obedience to the two greatest commandments look like? 

• If Jesus completely fulfilled the law (and the bible teaches that he has) what does it look like to delight in God’s law?  Why is that important for us?

• Like a mirror reflects our faces, humanity was meant to reflect the goodness, truth, and beauty exhibited by our Creator. How is this possible in our broken world?