Daily Scripture: Jeremiah 9:23 (24) instead, let the boaster boast about this:
that he understands and knows me —
that I am Adonai, practicing grace,
justice and righteousness in the land;
for in these things I take pleasure,” says Adonai.
24 (25) “The days are coming,” says Adonai, “when I will punish all those who have been circumcised in their uncircumcision —
Mark 12:28 One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them engaged in this discussion. Seeing that Yeshua answered them well, he asked him, “Which is the most important mitzvah of them all?” 29 Yeshua answered, “The most important is,
‘Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, O Isra’el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one], 30 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.’[a]
31 The second is this:
‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]
There is no other mitzvah greater than these.”[Footnotes:
Mark 12:30 Deuteronomy 6:4–5
Mark 12:31 Leviticus 19:18]
Reflection Questions:When an expert in Jewish law asked Jesus to weigh in on a common rabbinic debate ("what was the greatest commandment?"), Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5. However, he notably added the phrase "with all your mind." Like Jeremiah, Jesus valued learning, not as an abstract good, but as a tool that helps us to know God as fully as we can.
Jesus said we must love God "with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength." Which of those ways most easily and naturally falls into place for you in your walk with God? Which do you find most challenging? What do you find helpful in keeping all of those dimensions in balance as you love God?
Scholar N. T. Wright wrote, "Jesus really did believe that through his kingdom-mission Israel's God would enable people to worship and love him, and to love one another, in a new way…that stemmed from renewed hearts and lives…. this is a considerable challenge to all contemporary Christians. Would anyone looking at us—our churches, our lives, the societies that claim in some sense to be ‘Christian'—ever have guessed that the man we claim to follow saw his followers as being people like this?" How can you more and more clearly show to others the kind of life Jesus described?
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, my heart and life need regular, ongoing renewal. Keep challenging, teaching and shaping me into a person who loves you with all that I am. Amen.Insight from Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection. He helps lead worship at the Vibe, West, and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.
Jesus covered all bases when he reveals his take on what the greatestcommandment is: love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. People learn early on what their strengths are and how to lean on them. Some are emotional and take their greatest pride in how much they care for others; some truly pour themselves into whatever they do and take their greatest pride in their dedication; some are highly intelligent and take their greatest pride in their intellectual pursuits; some possess a great strength, either of will or physicality, and take their greatest pride in their potential to accomplish difficult things.
God created us with strengths. God created us to take some degree of pride in these strengths so that we would continue to develop them. These are healthy things. Where things become unhealthy is when we forget why we have these strengths.
Jesus made it clear that the reason we have these strengths is to love: love God, and Jesus extended this to others. If you’re an emotional person, love passionately, making sure God and others know they are loved by you; if you’re a devoted person, love deeply, making sure that you give it your all; if you’re an intellectual, love intelligently, making sure that your love is doing the most good for the most people; if you’re a strong person, love supportingly, carrying others’ burdens when necessary and picking up causes.
The point is that if we stop at taking pride in our strengths, we’re missing out on a much greater good and, truthfully, a much greater source of self esteem. Stopping at our strengths would be like receiving a nice toolset as a gift, and then displaying it proudly on a wall in your house, never to be used. Your strengths are your tools, and it’s in the work of love that we see their true potential achieved.
Jesus covered all bases when he reveals his take on what the greatestcommandment is: love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. People learn early on what their strengths are and how to lean on them. Some are emotional and take their greatest pride in how much they care for others; some truly pour themselves into whatever they do and take their greatest pride in their dedication; some are highly intelligent and take their greatest pride in their intellectual pursuits; some possess a great strength, either of will or physicality, and take their greatest pride in their potential to accomplish difficult things.
God created us with strengths. God created us to take some degree of pride in these strengths so that we would continue to develop them. These are healthy things. Where things become unhealthy is when we forget why we have these strengths.
Jesus made it clear that the reason we have these strengths is to love: love God, and Jesus extended this to others. If you’re an emotional person, love passionately, making sure God and others know they are loved by you; if you’re a devoted person, love deeply, making sure that you give it your all; if you’re an intellectual, love intelligently, making sure that your love is doing the most good for the most people; if you’re a strong person, love supportingly, carrying others’ burdens when necessary and picking up causes.
The point is that if we stop at taking pride in our strengths, we’re missing out on a much greater good and, truthfully, a much greater source of self esteem. Stopping at our strengths would be like receiving a nice toolset as a gift, and then displaying it proudly on a wall in your house, never to be used. Your strengths are your tools, and it’s in the work of love that we see their true potential achieved.
Church of the Resurrection
gpsonline@cor.org
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
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