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 12:29-31 ESV
When Jesus underlines and puts an exclamation point next to something, it’s worth paying attention to! “No greater commandment…” He says, and part of it is loving our neighbor. Jesus goes on to define our neighbor in an unexpected way… someone who by outward standards may be very different, but is a person in need.
Whether by working with our hands to improve our community or bring hope to those who are suffering, or by taking the good news about Jesus to the poor and imprisoned, we seek to reach out with the love of Jesus in both our words and actions.
