ALL ABOUT ALL
In Mark 12 Jesus was asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)
Forget about all the rest of the Commandments, this one alone would send every one of us to hell for our grievous failure to fulfill it! This command leaves out nothing. If you miss the word ALL, you have missed it ALL! Some have said to me, "Pastor, when is enough, enough?... When will I know I am doing it good enough?" My answer to them is that all our trying to be good enough will never even begin to satisfy even this first command that God gave us through the law of Moses.
Though Jesus said that loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength is the first and greatest of the commandments (also found in Mt 22:37-38), the whole new covenant is centered around us being set free from the law. Jesus purpose for coming to this earth was to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf! He took the test for us, and then gave us his perfect score. How beautiful! His purpose was to set us free from trying to keep all the righteous requirements of the law! Take a moment to look at the Scriptures. (Rom 7:1-6, 8:1-2, 10:4)
Isaiah tells us that all our righteousness is as filthy rags. (Isa 64:6) By faith alone can you tap into the righteousness that God requires and this means you MUST give up ALL your “enough” to by faith receive his “enough.” Make no mistake, it is still all about ALL… You give up ALL your ability to be righteous by your own strength to, by faith, receive ALL his righteousness as provided by his blood of Jesus and the cross! The more you give up ALL your righteousness, and surrender to Christ’s free gift of righteousness, the more his righteousness will flow through you! What you meditate on the most is what you will become!
Therefore it all comes down to what you believe. This is why Jesus declared, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 18:3) Children are believing… They don't question, they believe what you tell them! The only way to live a righteous life is to receive and believe that you are already righteous by the blood of Jesus! This requires you to, like a child, simply believe what God has said! The righteousness of God is a free gift! You can never work it up; you must soak it up!
Do you want to live a life that looks like Jesus?... Then wholly relinquish ALL thoughts of being righteous enough to deserve God and, by faith, receive ALL his righteousness! Oh… This truth is so yummy and tasty! This revelation is what taps you into the delectable life of heaven! :-) It is the most wonderfully, freeing thing to know that it’s not ALL about you, but rather ALL about him! Are you getting the picture? I hope you can see that it is…
ALL ABOUT ALL
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