May 13

Mark 12:28-34 (Click to see scripture)

Bible in One Year Passages:

Journal Entry

Scripture

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. (v. 33)

Observation

Jesus affirms this statement by the scribe, spoken in response to Jesus’ answer on which is the most important commandment. (v.34) What does it mean to love God with all of the heart, understanding, and love? To love my neighbor as myself? What ever that is, it should be much more than just doing the rituals or acts of worship. If I love God with everything that I have, that is if I am truly in obedience to the first commandment, then loving my neighbor as myself should come naturally. How can I love God and not love someone that God deeply cares for, someone who was created in the image of God? So the problem of not loving my neighbor means that I should question my love for God. Does my love for God begin and end with rituals? Attending church services, tithing, reading the Bible, going to summer mission trips, going to the retreats, taking on volunteer work at church, and sharing my faith (our equivalence to whole burnt offerings and sacrifices) are all necessary things that I should do. But to love God is much more than doing these.

Application

Loving God with all of my heart, with all of my mind, and with all of my strength is the most important thing that I should do in my life. But translating this knowledge into my daily life has been challenging. I tend to translate loving God into doing things for God, church activities, doing things in his name. If doing came out of my being, out of overflow of my love for God, then that is one thing. But many times the order is reversed, that is, I do things so that I can love him. I suppose this is one way but hardly ideal. More and more, I desire to sit before Him quietly and listen to his voice, meditate on his words. Less doing, more being. Bobby Clinton (Fuller prof) likes to say that “ministry flows out of being”. How true it is, in light of today’s passage.

Prayer

Dear God, I truly desire to love you with all of my heart, with all of my mind, and with all of my strength. I desire to sit before you quietly and listen to you and enjoy your presence. Please work me inside out so that my being is whole, full of your spirit. Please help me so that, even in the midst of my busy schedule, I could find sanctuary in you throughout the day. And please let my doing be a result of my overflowing love for you. Amen.

--tchang