Recently, I started posting a Bible verse for reflection on Sundays. This week it is Mark 12:28-31. If you are just here for quilting, feel free to scroll down for this week’s Women of the Bible blocks.
28 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. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31
At this point in the Bible, the Sadducees were testing Jesus. These men were Palestinian priests and aristocrats who interpreted the written law very literally. Their repeated questions were designed to trip Jesus up. Jesus would not be swayed, however. When they asked which is the greatest commandment, his answer was love.
We are to love God and love each other. The Bible tells us this is the most important commandment. Sometimes it is hard, though. Some people are just not that lovable. Sometimes little things get on our nerves and we have a hard time even loving others in our own house. Someone may have hurt you and you just can’t forgive them. Yet Jesus tells us that we are to love all of these people.
In these cases, God doesn’t want us to love them for their sake. He wants us to love them for our sake. It is for our own peace and contentment. I live a perfect example of this every day. Mornings are my favorite time of day. I love the stillness and promise of the new day. The first part of every day is spent in quiet solitude and reflection. The emphasis is on quiet. Even though we’ve lived together for 40 years, Jim doesn’t understand quiet. He wakes up talking. Even though I tell him I need two hours of silence in the morning (haha!), he immediately starts yammering about one thing and another. It. Drives. Me. Nuts. Who is it hurting though? Jim will always be his usual cheerful, talkative self in the morning. I can either let it fester or let it go. Whichever, I choose, it makes no difference to him, it only robs me of my peace.
This is the same reason God calls us to love others. By doing so we learn to value and cherish others who are different from us. We learn tolerance, acceptance, and especially patience. Most people don’t realize or care whether or not we love them, but God grants US peace when we do.
Women of the Bible Blocks 5 and 6
I really enjoy making these little blocks each week. They are a short diversion from bigger projects I’m working on. It is fun to pick fabrics when you only need to choose a couple for each block. This week’s blocks represent Hagar and Jezebel.
Hope you have a peaceful Sunday and come back tomorrow for some Monday Motivation!
Omg! That ‘Morning quiet’ paragraph could have been written by me! That’s Tom and me. Having pets helps me … if I can be nice to the dogs, I suppose I’d better be nice to him too. A little silence would be a bonus start to my day.
Nice verse to meditate on. Thank you.