What Is The Greatest Of All The Commandments?

Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,

"Which is the first of all the commandments?"

Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel!

The Lord our God is Lord alone!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these."

The scribe said to him,

"Well said, teacher.

You are right in saying,

He is One and there is no other than he.

And to love him with all your heart,

with all your understanding,

with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,

he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

- - - - - - - - -

The Lord, Our God, Is God Alone! Do we actually realize this? Do we truly see our Lord as the sole force in determining our life? Do we see him as our Master, the Master of our life, and that we are His servant.

Do we wake up each morning and ask God what is it that he chooses for us today?

Do we ask, How may I be of service to you?

I was on Facebook the other day and read a post of a person who stated, "I am so happy. I completed all my work goals this week." In itself that comment might not be a bad thing.

But, I began to wonder for myself. Did I completed all my work goals this week? Are my work goals, God's goals for me, or are they just my goals.

I began to think about my life goals. Are my life goals truly God's goals for me.

Am I traveling the path that God is setting out in front of me, or am I traveling some alternative path, or worse yet, at times do I veer off course altogether.

I met with a lady yesterday who returned to work after being a homemaker for many years. She stated that she is having trouble adjusting to being immersed in the secular world after being able to be home and dictating her own day to day life.

She had been able to spiritually feed herself through out the day, with watching EWTN, praying, visiting adoration, and now her job consumes her day. She stated that she is having difficulty just connecting with God during her day.

How can we know what God desires for us if we aren't asking him every day, maybe 10 times a day?

Are we loving Him with all our soul, all our mind, all our strength.....

Isn't attempting to do His will, following Him, and being obedient to Him an act of love.

Listening to Him is so important, but just as important is acting on what He is telling us to do.

You shall love you neighbor as yourself.

First of all we must love ourselves, not in a prideful way, but as a child of God.

Realizing that in His perfection He made us, we a creature, created in the image and likeness of God.

We have a purpose and a holiness about us, and we are called to live in that holiness. Once understood who we are, and that can only happen in relation to understanding who created us, we can then transfer that understand that is based in truth and love unto our neighbors.

We are loved, and are to love. That is our purpose, that is our mission.