Daily Scripture: 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:Scholar William Barclay noted that there were two schools of thought among rabbis. Some believed “there were lighter and weightier matters of the law…great principles which were all-important to grasp.” Others “held that every smallest principle was equally binding.” Similarly, some of us want God’s will to apply to every smallest decision, while others see God’s will as focused in the “weightier matters,” the great principles that shape our lives. Jesus wasn’t unsure about that—he saw some principles as central to understanding God’s will, far more vital than others. Loving God and loving your neighbor, Jesus said, are the greatest commandments, pivotal expressions of God’s will.
The words Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6 were sweeping: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Doesn’t leave much out, does it? Then he added, from Leviticus 19, “You will love your neighbor as yourself.” How can those two great commandments form the foundation from which to make choices that accord with God’s will, whether in regard to your finances, your work, your place of residence, your relationships or any other parts of your life?
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, sometimes I want what I want so badly that it’s really hard to even think about what you want. Please keep me growing in my willingness to live into your will—which is, ultimately, what I want when I’m aware of what is best for me. Amen.
Family Activity:
Buy two cake mixes and the ingredients with which to make them. As a family, prepare the treats by following the instructions with one box and making up the ingredients for the other box. (Add too much or too little milk or oil, forget the eggs, etc.) Bake both cakes as directed. When the cakes come out of the oven, use your senses of sight, smell and taste to explore the differences between the cakes. Which one turned out better? Why? Compare this outcome to our life with God by discussing the importance of following God’s directions for us. How and why is it best for us to choose God’s guidance and will? Pray and ask God to help you know God’s direction and follow it.
Insights from Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill is the Guest Connections Program Director at Resurrection.
Did you know that 1 in 4 girls will be sexually assaulted before the age of 18 in the U.S., according to the CDC? Chances are you know someone then who has been the victim of some form of sexual abuse.
While this statistic is horrifying and heartbreaking it wasn’t something I was aware of at the tender age of 12. Two weeks after my birthday I became a part of that statistic. It was an awful, confusing, heart wrenching time in my teen life. Fortunately I was surrounded by family that loved me and walked with me through my hurt. They were a huge part of God’s plan for healing in my life, but even more important was my relationship with God.
I remember directly after the abuse all the feelings that rushed over me. I felt so lost that the only thing I could think to do was pray. My prayers started with pain and hurt and I found myself asking God why this happened. They quickly moved to anger and I found myself mad at God for allowing it to happen. Finally I just sobbed and throughout it all, through the pain and the anger and the hurt, I heard God saying, “You are my beloved. You are not alone, you are never alone. My heart is breaking too.”
I know that this abuse was never God’s plan for my life. He didn’t cause it to happen any more than I asked for it to happen. What I do know is that he redeemed it. He took something painful and wrong that happened to me and turned it into something redemptive in the world. For fourteen years I served in youth ministry working with middle and high school students. I wish I could say that I never found occasion to have to share my story, but that would be a lie. Every time I shared my story another teen would stop me afterward, and with tears in their eyes ask if they could talk. God has used my life experiences to comfort, guide and love teens who have faced some of the most brutal betrayals.
That’s what God does. He takes something painful and ugly and turns it into something redemptive. I have the great pleasure these days of teaching our “Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts” class. During the last week of class we spend time looking at how our life experiences uniquely shape us for service. There is no one else like you. No one else has the same story as you do. The hurts and joys of your life have a unique story to tell as well. They are a gift–maybe not the gift you wanted, but the gift that someone else needs to hear.
You can be the gift that someone else needs right now. How has God uniquely shaped you to help others? How can your story be a tool for renewal in someone’s life? It might be as simple as being more transparent with your kids about the decisions you made or your life story. It might be taking the step to continue healing by joining a group at Care Night. Whatever that step might be for you I encourage you to share your story. You have something unique and powerful to share. There is healing in the sharing, both for you and for a broken world who desperately needs to hear some good news.
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