Scripture: Mark 12:29-31
Jesus replied, “The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”
Thought for the Day: Shortly before Jesus emerged on the scene, a Jewish Rabbi by the name of Hillel added to the great insights of the faith when he wrote: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That’s the whole Torah. All the rest is commentary. Now go and study.” Though Jesus spun the idea a bit differently, they both demonstrated what was a growing wave of thinking that countered the idea that complicated meant better. I remember saying after reading a theological book in college, “I didn’t understand a word I read. It must be brilliant stuff.” Well there is brilliant stuff that I will never understand, but too often religion has sought the complicated to eclipse a lack of actual practice. As long as I moan and sigh a lot during my study, then people will assume my faith must be really deep. Yet Jesus and Rabbi Hillel both attempted to summarize the life of faith in simple terms that had everything to do with how we relate to one another.
Prayer: When life is complicated and confusing, provide me a simple and grace-filled message about your love, O Lord – a love given to me with the intention that it is a love shared through me. Amen.
COMING LATER IN AUGUST
Make Sure You Make Time
