Love God with all your heart, soul, and strength.

The Jews were given the Law to set them apart from the world to assist them to live lives worthy of God’s special grace. The religious leaders who wanted power over the people yoked the people with the Law in such a way that it was overly burdensome to follow completely. Jesus came, not to abolish the Law, but to show the people how to live the Law to its fullest, not as a burden or obligation, but joyfully with love. He did so by living the Law with sacrificial love. When asked what one must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 and tells the people that they must love God with all their heart, all their soul, and all their strength. This is the greatest commandment of the Law. Jesus went on to tell the people that the second greatest commandment is to love one another with that same kind of love.

This is why Jesus says in today’s gospel, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” We are to love God above all things, including our parents and even our children. We are to live our lives for him and die for him if necessary. When we think of dying for Jesus, we often equate that to martyrdom, which is something very few if any of us will ever have to do. But dying for Christ means much more than just physical death. We are to die to our old selves and live completely for Jesus. We show our love for him by being obedient to his commandments to love God completely and love each other with the same love.

Jesus shows us what loving another is supposed to look like. Jesus humbled himself, that is he set his own importance aside, and spent his life serving others. Sacrificial love only cares for what is best for another. “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." This means that whoever chooses love-of-self over love-for-other in this life will receive their rewards in this life and an eternity in hell awaits them. Those who give up their lives in sacrificial service to others because they love God first will be rewarded with an eternity with God in heaven.

Sacrificial service to others begins with kindness and gentleness, recognizing the dignity inherent in all people no matter who they are, what they look like, how they vote, who they love, or how they act. It is loving people because we know that God created them and loves them as much as he loves us. We spend so much of our time telling others that the way they think, the things they believe, or the way they live their lives is wrong. We view them as enemies to be hated instead of creations of God to be loved. You cannot begin to change another’s heart by speaking Christ first. You first must be Christ to them. You may be the only face of Jesus someone will ever look upon. Live your life in such a way that they will see the love Jesus has for them through you.

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