This passage which is comparable to passages in other gospel accounts as well as in Deuteronomy 6 and is essentially telling us a couple of things. The first thing is our relationship with Christ. This is our vertical relationship. Picture the upright of a cross. As Christians we are called to be in right relationship with Jesus, our savior. This requires effort on our part. Relationships take time, effort, willingness, devotion, trust, transparency, intimacy. Sometimes we forget that Jesus is a living savior. He longs to be with us. He desires that closeness with us. I would not have been able to stay married to Ame for 18 years if we did not spend time investing in our relationship. This vertical relationship must be intact in order for the other relationships in our lives to be healthy.
Those other relationships are our horizontal relationships. Picture the horizontal rail on a cross. See in our passage we are admonished to love our neighbors. The implication is that we are to love each other, period. We will disappoint each other, hurt each other yet we must love each other. Guess how to do that? Have your vertical relationship intact. That is why Jesus said this was the greatest commandment, if we get this right, our relationship with Him... Other things in life have a way of coming together.
Are you trusting Him with your life? Are you trusting Him with your eternity? Tomorrow marks the day that He was marched to a place called The Skull and was nailed on a cross to atone for the sins of mankind. I would love an opportunity to share more about this with you if you have questions. Just know this, Jesus loves us so much, He died for us.
God, help us to continue to be mindful of the pain you suffered on our behalf. Help us to celebrate your resurrection as we keep in mind the death that had to occur first. Help us to love you with our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors. We can only accomplish these things because of your great love for us. In your name... Amen.
Waiting on Him,
ML
