Put A Little Love in Your Heart

One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, “Which command is the most important of all?”

“This is the most important,” Jesus answered:

Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

“The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no other command greater than these.”

Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher!   You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one else except Him. And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any longer.

-Mark 12:28-34


How are you doing at the one thing that matters?  Loving is what it is all about.  Loving God and loving people.

A Christian without love is not a Christian.  The kingdom is all about love.  If you are not in the love you are not in the kingdom.  You can't not love and be in the love.

The man here that spoke with Jesus was a scribe.  Who were the scribes?  From Elmer Towns, "Bible Answers...":

  • Scribes in ancient Israel were learned men whose business was to study the Law, transcribe it, and write commentaries on it.
  • They were widely respected by the community because of their knowledge, dedication, and outward appearance of Law-keeping. 
  • The scribes went beyond interpretation of Scripture, however, and added many man-made traditions to what God had said. They became professionals at spelling out the letter of the Law while ignoring the spirit behind it. Things became so bad that the regulations and traditions the scribes added to the Law were considered more important than the Law itself. This led to many confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes. 
  • The scribes’ original aim was in earnest—to know and preserve the Law and encourage others to keep it. But things turned horribly wrong when man-made traditions overshadowed God’s Word and a pretense of holiness replaced a life of true godliness.
  • The bigger problem was that the scribes were hypocrites at heart. They were more interested in appearing good to men than they were in pleasing God. Eventually, it was these same scribes who played a part in having Jesus arrested and crucified.  (Elmer Towns, Bible Answers)
This scribe asked Jesus, "What are the most important things that God wants us to do here?"  And Jesus told him, "Love God, then love people".

Perhaps the trouble for the scribes was that they loved the written words, but mistook that love for loving God.  Then, they made the mistake of adding their traditions, to "make it even better".  And inevitably, the traditions became as and even more important than the scriptures.  We can do this today and we do it a lot.

We want to get our doctrine right, we want good theology, and we want to teach correctly.  This is good and we should do this.  But, we go too far, when we put the Bible, or rather our interpretation of the Bible, above our love for God and our love for people.

There are many verses that encourage us to read the Bible and to study it and to seek to know it.  But, the numero uno thing is to love God, and the second thing is to love people.  

Today, we put knowledge (so called) first and then call it loving to judge and teach and fix others, based on our perceived knowledge.  Behold, the modern day scribe, who does not walk in love, but claims authority because of their perceived knowledge.  And a big component of this disease is that we peddle doctrines or schools of theology that are man made understandings, but not the word or the person of the word (Jesus) and we hold those beliefs up higher than loving God and loving people.

Let's debate and discuss, question each other and respond, in a dialogue.  Let's not give monologue speeches with no interaction.  Jesus' people ought to be known for their love, and it is loving to listen to others and interact with others: discussing, and responding to each other, as we work out loving God and loving each other.



Put A Little Love in Your Heart
By Jackie DeShannon

Think of your fellow man
Lend him a helping hand
Put a little love in your heart
You see it's getting late
Oh, please don't hesitate
Put a little love in your heart

And the world will be a better place
And the world will be a better place
For you and me
You just wait and see

Another day goes by
Still the children cry
Put a little love in your heart
If you want the world to know
We won't let hatred grow
Put a little love in your heart

And the world (and the world) will be a better place
All the world (all the world) will be a better place
For you (for you)
And me (and me)
You just wait (just wait)
And see, wait and see

Take a good look around
And if you're looking down
Put a little love in your heart
I hope when you decide
Kindness will be your guide
Put a little love in your heart

And the world (and the world) will be a better place
And the world (and the world) will be a better place
For you (for you)
And me (and me)
You just wait (just wait)
And see

People, now put a little love in your heart
Each and every day
Put a little love in your heart
There's no other way
Put a little love in your heart
It's up to you
Put a little love in your heart
C'mon and...



Comments