The Great Commandment
Matthew 22:36-40 (someone asked him) Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
In many of Jesus’ teachings and Paul’s letters to early Christians, Jewish laws and customs are challenged. However, the basic Ten Commandments are never challenged. In fact, Jesus refers to them when asked what the greatest commandment is. Look at the 10 commandments from yesterday…. divide them into two groups. The first four deal with our relationship with God and the second six deal with our relationship with others. If we are focused on loving God with our whole being and loving our neighbors, we will automatically be obeying the Ten Commandments.
Activity: Draw or cut out a heart from a piece of paper. Talk about what ways we can love God with our whole hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. Write them on the heart.
Optional Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss