Love is more important

November 3, 2024
Love is more important

Scripture Reading: Mark 12: 28 - 34 (NIV)

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

32“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

MessageLove is more important

Sunday school answers - general ideas

“World Peace” - in the move Miss Congeniality 

Giving the politically correct answers when we are prompted

We’ve become good at giving answers that sounds nice

But despite the truth of these answers, they quickly become clichés 

Definition of a cliché:  “a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

Overused… lack of original thought?

Losing the ability to have insight into the real implications of what you are saying

The question today is:  Have we Christians allowed “love as the most important virtue” become a cliché?

One of those things we just say, but without deeper original thought?

Have stopped to take a moment to really think what this idea is that comes out of the conversation Jesus had with this man?

What does it mean to say that loving is the most important thing you can do in serving God?

What does that look like?

Specific answers - in situations 

You see, to answer this question, you would have to come down from the cloudy, hazy general headspace (that cliché space) to the more concrete

To understand that what it means to say that love is most important, you would bring this idea into specific situations 

Movement from general to specific - like Jesus did with the parables He told…

A movement from most (out there in general) to more (down here, direct compared to)….

In the response of the law teacher, you see something of this happening:  “To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

He brings it down to the issue that is front of mind for him and allows that insight to sink in

A teacher of the law bringing the profound statement that Jesus made about what is most important, and zoom it into his whole understanding of how life is supposed to function

And here, in that zoomed state, he discovers the truth of what Jesus is saying to him

The answer to his burning question - the question to which his gut feel always told him that there was more… 

Love is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices…

Aha!  Eureka moment!

Love is more important…

Now were not law teachers in this service today, are we?

We don’t even function the same way in our religion today - bringing of sacrifices (killing animals)

But I think we can benefit from an exercise of zooming in

Bringing the truth of “love is the most important thing” into direct context with where we live our lives

I want to invite you to zoom in today…. I want to invite you to allow yourself to be challenged today…

Think for a moment of a burning question that you are wondering about…

Imagine you are standing in front of Jesus asking Him help you make sense of it… what is most important?  

Imagine Jesus telling you this great truth:  “Love is most important!”

Take that and bring it closer to where you are with what is on your mind…

Allow yourself to see it in comparison:  love is more important than… my doubts?… or me winning the argument?… or my success?… or my pain?… or my struggle with addiction?… 

Here we are today - hearing the great truth of the law:  Love is the most important!

Take that and bring it to your question

Allow yourself to see it:  Love is more important!

AMEN


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