When asked which is the first commandment of all, Jesus answered, "The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)
I've been participating in a Bible class that is focused on the topic of Practical Christianity. The discussion has emphasized how our lives, in this materialistic, complex, overloaded, and selfish culture, seem to miss the point God has been trying to make with us. It may be that many well-intentioned believers (me included) have been missing the point. The things we spend our time and resources to pursue (career, things, power, prestige, appearance, etc.) have nothing to do with what God wants from us. At most, and to the degree they are things we need to survive, they are merely incidental.
In conversations with people, it is interesting to hear the rationalizations. Sadly, they sound just like me when I talk to myself. Just like I am not quite pursuaded when talking with others, I don't think God (or anyone else) is pursuaded by me. Could it be that we are simply deceiving ourselves?
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." (Galations 6:7)
What is becoming more clear each day is that God is interested in relationships. First, our relationship with Him and second, our relationship with each other.
I'm afraid I'm off track. Can someone out there help me find my way back?
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