So what is the connection between loving God and loving our neighbour? If there is real love of God, there will be love for ourselves, and love for our neighbour.

See how complete Jesus reminds us this love for God is meant to be: all our heart, soul and mind.

We are so often tempted to hold something back. We want to love ourselves on our own terms – to love ourselves fully, like we should love God. But that would lead to a world full of Gods, and how would that work out?

Or we are tempted to put these two loves in opposition. I can either be good, ethical, and law-abiding to love God, or I can just love people. The problem with this is that true love of our neighbour flows from the love ofGod. Our love for God leads to love of our neighbours, which leads us to want to act right toward them. Without love for God, and an experience of his love, we each have to define love for ourselves, and we all have different ideas about what love is!

We’ll see tomorrow how Jesus’ self-giving love sets the pattern for our love, while freeing us from the traps of loving ourselves first, trying to use others to earn our salvation, or any other attempt to manipulate God or others.

Question: Define love.

Ryan Sim - May 20, 2013

Monday - A New Idea - Priorities

I overhead some people on a first date talking about what’s important in life. I remember answering questions like that – listing your priorities as a good way to learn about someone. There’s a standard formula. If you’re a Christian, have to start with God. Then you’re supposed to say something about people: family, friends, loved ones. Then finally material things – jobs, posessions, etc. But are they true? Or are we trying to say the right things to impress someone – show that we’re a good date, good Christian, good person? They make for inspiring stories - take the Office two weeks ago: Jim has stepped back from a business he’s started to mend his marriage and work at his old job with Dunder Mifflin. David Wallace, the CEO of Dunder Mifflin, says “Most of the guys I know wouldn’t rearrange their golf schedule to save their marriage”. But what does that really look like in practice? How many times can you sacrifice money for kids before your kids suffer? Would God rather you spend Sunday morning at hockey practice, for your kids physical health, or at church, for their spiritual help? When does God trump one’s kids – only on Sundays, all the time, or never? This kind of prioritizing can leave us feeling like every decision is a competition. We asked some people on the street about their top two priorities in life – and heard about kids, money, health and more. That’s what we’ll look at this week. But instead of a question, here’s your task – list off some important things in your life, and rank them. Think of things like Kids, Parents, Spouse, Friends, Job, Home, Savings, Paying Debt, God, Possessions, etc. Prioritize them – rank them – you’re not allowed to give any ties. We’ll use this list in Thursday’s challenge. If you’re not sure, look at your spending, or use of time through the week. It’s usually a good indication of your priorities in life.

From Series: "Sermon on the Mount"

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