Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:34-40
Focus Verses: Matthew 22:37-39 "Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
The world spends lots of money on advertising products every year. They try to convince us that we need many things in our lives. They say that these things will bring happiness into our lives. Some things are truly needed in our lives like, food, shelter, and clothing.
In our verses today Jesus gives us the two greatest commandments in all the Bible. Love God, and love others. That sounds simple, doesn't it? If you think about it, all of life comes down to those two things, loving God, and loving others. Everything else in this world will one day pass away. But God and people will last forever.
The things of this world do bring a kind of happiness. But it's not a lasting happiness. You have to keep looking for the next thing to keep your happiness. God designed us with a void or emptiness in our lives that only He can fill. He knew the value of our loving Him and loving others. He also knew how self serving we, as humans, can be, and that we would fill our lives with empty pursuits if He didn't command us to love Him and to love others. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 "there is coming a day when all our works will be tested by fire." Only what is done for Christ will last.
In true love and obedience to God is where we can find real happiness. We will experience real joy in giving of ourselves to God and others out of love. It is in this love that we find purpose in life, and it is from this purpose that we can gain true happiness.
Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
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