March 20th: God, above all else

Genuine, wholehearted love of God inevitably leads to love for our neighbour.

Mark 12: 28-34

When the scribe asked Jesus to name the greatest commandment he was probably expecting Jesus to single out one of the Ten Commandments. Instead Jesus drew from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 thereby summing up the commandments making love of God and love for neighbour the two most essential virtues in Christian living.

Priority is given to love of God. If we should stick to the letter of the question: ‘Which is the greatest?’, love of God is. It is only God whom we must love with our whole being: heart, mind, soul and strength. It is only God whom we must put first.

Genuine, wholehearted love of God inevitably leads to love for our neighbour. After all we cannot love God whom we cannot see and not love our neighbour whom we can see. (1John 4:20)

We cannot command anyone to love. Love is a free, willing response to God and neighbour. Nonetheless, failure to love is a great failure in Christian living and witness.