February 5, 2012
Mark
12:28-34
“Which commandment is the first
of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is,
‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and 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.”
A Focused Heart
Jesus knows the hearts of his people. Because of this, Jesus knows where the
attention of the heart should be directed for the greatest benefit of the
person and all humanity. A scribe came
to Jesus and tried to trick him with a question. The scripture above records the
response. The heart of all of God’s law
and of all of God’s way can be summed it in the simple phrase “Love God and
Love others”. The scribe agreed with
this. It is a foundational truth of faith. It is the central motivation for God’s
people. This is the place our heart is
to be. This is the place where our
motivation is to be focused. This is how
we begin to live a holy life for Christ.
Yet this isn’t always how Christians and churches are
defined. We find it easy to get caught
up in smaller issues, smaller problems, and smaller goals. In doing so we hide our hearts in an effort
to protect them or keep them to ourselves.
A heart given over to God is a heart that is exposed. A person’s motivation is visible in their
life and actions. Who a person is and
what they are about is not a mystery. When
we give our hearts to God we become vulnerable to his will, trusting that his
will is best. The hearts of people are
beautiful. They are meant to be
seen. How visible is your heart? Is something hiding it? Does it need refocused?
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