More Than Burnt Offering And Sacrifice

"...to love Him (the Lord) with all the heart and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself, is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Mark 12:33).

We see this passage in other places as parallels to the Gospels and each one speaks of the same thing. Laws were made with mankind, God saw that we could not keep them and when Jesus came onto the scene, He was sure to make a more simplified manner in which to be obedient to Christ.

You know, as long as there is emotion in the world, as long as there is right and wrong, we are going to have trouble with this issue. Aren't you thankful that you have a Savior Who was willing to still go to the cross even after He had simplified the law to the extent that all we had to do is Love God and Love one another. All God is looking for is the sincerity of our hearts. Around here we have differences of opinions concerning moral and ethical issues such as abortion, adultery, stealing from others, etc. However, God seems to have said that it is okay to "hate the sin", I just want you to be able to "love the sinner." And we find ourselves on both sides of the spectrum. We are both the sinner and the one who loves the sinner a well. That's not too difficult, is it? And if we begin to think that this IS too difficult, I think it is time to re-evaluate our spiritual well-beings.

Next week I'll have something to say about the "penalty of sin" in the sight of God (Romans 6:23). Thank God, He made provision for our sins because it is no secret that we, of our own strength, have no ability to stop ourselves.

When, within the Gospel messages, Jesus said to "love your neighbor as yourself" He was simply saying that it is absolutely possible to hate sin and still love the sinner. Think about it because this idea effects every single one of us.

Dave