Loving God with Everything | Mark 12:28-31 | Good, Good News
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Loving God with Everything | Mark 12:28-31

Loving God with Everything
By: Pastor Joshua Sponsler


“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And 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.” Mark 12:28-31 ESV

God has brought me back to these verses over and over again this year. I love God so much, but I do not love him with everything inside of me. I love people a lot, but I do not always love them like I love myself.

Anytime there is any command in the Bible the seems impossible, it is in our own ability. That is why God sent us the Holy Spirit, to dwell in us and lead us into all truth. Because of the Holy Spirit, these impossible things become invitations to those who are in Jesus. Invitations to grow closer to Him. The Jews lived under the law. There were 613 laws that had to be followed perfectly to be right with God. Jesus summed them all up into two invitations: love God with everything you have, and love people with the love of Jesus.

“Success in the kingdom of God looks like love.”


As I was reading over these verses, God showed me something. He said, “Success in the kingdom of God looks like love.” This is not the love of the world, but the pure, unconditional love that God first loved us with. The only way we are able to love God is by Him first loving us with His perfect love. “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 ESV As we are loved by God, His love transforms us and shifts our hearts to love Him with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength.Following Jesus is not hard. Our Jesus made it so simple, love God and love people. Let’s pursue His kingdom together.

Application:
* Find three days and take 10 mins to get by yourself. Turn on some instrumental music and ask God what He loves about you. Write down the first thing that comes into your head. Everything God says to us is full of love, encouragement, and truth. If it does not line up with love or the Bible, it is not God. Take what you wrote down and share it with a close friend who is walking with God to see what they think. Come into the love of God.