Mark 12:28

One of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" And Jesus answered, "The most important is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:28-31, ESV)

When love gets out of order, life falls out of alignment—but when we start with God, everything else begins to align.

The Simplicity of Jesus' Answer

Jesus answers a simple question with profound simplicity. A scribe asks, "What's the main thing? What do we need to be about?" And Jesus breaks it down to this: love God, and love others like you love yourself. This is ingrained into the fabric of this fellowship; it reflects the heartbeat of the passage.

Now, Christianity is not egocentric—it's Christ-centered. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves and take up our cross. But I want to submit this to you: if I don't see myself the way God sees me in Christ, if I don't understand my worth in Christ, my attempts to love others, to live well, or even to lead well, fall flat every day and twice on Sunday.

A Love Relationship, Not Mere Religion

Henry Blackaby, in Experiencing God, makes the point that Christianity is not about religion—it's about a love relationship with God. And the temperature of that relationship matters. If you can't say, "I know that God loves me," then you need to stop and do whatever you need to do to entreat the Holy Spirit to meet you in a place where you understand that the love of God is shed abroad in your heart. Because that's what changes the world. Loved people change the world.

I know what it's like to be lost. I know what it's like to wake up sad and feel, "Why am I still here?" And now, 25 years later, I know what it's like to wake up and say, "God, You've forgiven me. I'm not guilty—I'm forgiven, I'm free. I'm part of a family. I have focus, a unique function to play, and a future that fortifies my heart and soul."

So Jesus simplifies the whole of life and faith down to this one commandment: love God completely, love others compassionately, and love ourselves correctly. And what really helps is that it's in black and white, and often red. I love that this church loves the Word of God.

Love God Completely

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

Paul writes to the Ephesians, "Because you are His children, live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself to us as a pleasing aroma to God" (Ephesians 5:1-2).

In the 17th century, Blaise Pascal said that every person has a God-shaped vacuum in their soul. God has gone ahead of you in every relationship; He's the one who, by the Holy Spirit, convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Another theologian put it this way: "You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You."

Evangelism can feel intimidating until you know the atmosphere you're stepping into. There is a heart's cry for eternity in every single one of us. It may be covered in layers of hurt, wound, and bad thinking, but if you're willing to work with people and have honest conversations one step at a time, you've got the high ground. God is working in them.

Designed to Be Fully Known and Fully Loved

We can chase distractions, crave approval, run harder, and increase effort, but rest will never come. Greg Laurie puts it this way: trying to live without God's love is like trying to drive a car without gas. It just doesn't work.

The real issue is this: we were designed to be fully known and fully loved, and you will never find that on the horizontal plane. You'll see beautiful expressions of it in a marriage partner or a group of people, but if you want that friend who sticks closer than a brother, that satisfaction of soul is found in a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Your soul mate is the one who made your soul. If you're looking to anyone else, you're looking to something less, holding them to a standard they can't even fulfill themselves.

We love Him because He first loved us. God's love is initiating. My pastor John Corson used to tell me, "Neil, if you don't sense the love of God in your life, remember the phone illustration—you're the one who hung up. He's still there. Position yourself under the spout where the blessing is pouring out. It's not that He's moved—where are you?"

When a Good Thing Becomes a God Thing

Salary, status, sex, substance, situation, stuff, and sport—these are all good things in their proper context. But when you take a good thing and make it a God thing, it robs that thing of the good thing God intended it for. You're made for satisfaction of soul, not just gratification. Enjoy a football game to the glory of God—nothing wrong with that—but it can't produce what you're hoping it promises. Where does satisfaction come from? The One who made me.

God's love is also intimate. Jeremiah 31:3 says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." His love is incomparable—Romans 5:8 says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And His love is inseparable—nothing can separate us from the love of God. Sin has consequences; certain decisions bring certain outcomes. That doesn't mean God loves you less. Just get smarter: read the Bible, obey it, and hang with God's people.

Warren Wiersbe said love is not an emotion; it's a decision that leads to devotion. Another author said true spirituality begins with intimacy with God, not activity for God. As the son of a church planter, I know how easy it is to serve God as if He's your employer instead of your Father. You're not God's project—you're His kid.

Running Your Race

What does it look like to love God completely? Not perfectly—there's no such thing—but with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Heart and soul are your affections, mind is your attention, strength is your activity. Your time and your talents reflect what you really treasure.

Some of us aren't musically inclined or gifted orators. But you can choose today to pray, to read your Bible, to forgive. What would this city look like if those with the grit to show up to a 7:30 service had that same grit to forgive and to simply be a believer right where they're at? That's how you change the world—one person, one decision, one day at a time. You're not in competition with anyone but the person in the mirror, and God gives you grace through His Spirit to run your race well.

You only get one shot at today. Romans 12 isn't that mysterious: love without hypocrisy; as much as it depends on you, be at peace with everyone. Chuck used to say one of the hardest things for some is to accept grace gracefully. God has been gracious to me, therefore I will be gracious to others. We start with the reality that God loves us, so we love Him completely.

Love Others Compassionately

Do not just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong; hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring one another. (Romans 12:9-10, NLT)

A high school pastor named Gerald once gave a silly illustration of "outdoing one another in showing honor": none of us would ever leave the room, because every time we reached an exit we'd say, "No, no—after you." Behind the joke is a real mindset—excelling at showing honor, respect, and love. That goes a long way in building connections.

Everyone is flawed and odd. Church is like cereal: fruits, flakes, and nuts, all together. But if you can't give someone a nod of respect, you're in the wrong—because they're created in the image of God. They have value, dignity, and worth simply by being conceived. If you want to build a bridge, it has to be respect and love.

Loved people love people. When God fills your heart with love, it overflows. In John 13:34-35, Jesus says, "A new commandment I give you: love each other just as I have loved you. By this all people will know that you are my disciples." What does the church need—more orators, more musicians? No. It needs love through you.

Sent Where You Are

You are God's plan for your specific sphere of influence. There is no other. Every heart is either a mission field or a missionary. As John 20:21 records, Jesus said, "As the Father sent me, so I send you." You've been sent to love well—with truth, with respect.

Jesus didn't cling to a title; He wore a towel. He stooped down and washed Peter's feet, knowing Peter was about to deny Him three times. He took the lowest position of all. To love others compassionately means you're called to serve, and being a servant under the right authority—the authority of God—is one of the freest places to be.

Love is a lot like motor oil: it works in the background, but you know when it's not there, because everything grinds. With it, even friction is manageable, and love covers a multitude of sins.

The Way Forward Is Forgiveness

When it comes to church hurt, the one who carries the most isn't the one who leaves—it's the one who leads. Those who lead through hard things and still show up carry hurts, wounds, and scars like everyone else. But Jesus says, "I paid for that. You've got to let me take it. Stop carrying it, because it's killing you from the inside out."

Someone once told me, "Neil, if the sins of others can't be washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ in your eyes, what makes you think yours can?" Forgiveness is the way forward. Why do we want justice for others but mercy and grace for ourselves? Let vengeance belong to God—He'll take care of it. This isn't approving of wrong; it's refusing to hold it against someone and trusting it to God.

Love Ourselves Correctly

Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (Romans 12:3, NLT)

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

Hold these two passages in juxtaposition. Culture says, "Look within." The gospel says you're not defined by your performance, your past, your preferences, or your personality—you're defined by the person and finished work of Jesus Christ.

Let me be extremely clear, because someone might wonder if this is pop psychology. Loving ourselves correctly means seeing ourselves as God sees us. Know your identity in Christ. But also know that you're God's masterpiece, and He is working a story in your life—you're just too close to it. Step back and look through the lens of God's faithfulness over the last 25 years, or even the last year and 30 days. Not the lens of "shoulda, woulda, coulda," but the lens of His faithfulness—it will cause you to dream again.

Grace Holds Dignity and Depravity Together

A man who discipled me said, "Neil, when you stop dreaming, that's when you start dying." If you can't see the faithfulness of God in your life, how can you get up today thankful and passionate? The better you know your past correctly, the better you'll know how to live today rightly.

Loving ourselves correctly is not worm theology—"I'm worthless, I never do anything right." Nor is it pride theology—"I've got this, you're lucky to have me." Grace holds dignity and depravity together. You're more sinful than you realize and more beloved than you could ever imagine. You're God's workmanship.

But we live in a world where culture and expectations are like a funhouse mirror that distorts the image. We all have this in common: we were conceived, born, and immediately shaped by our family, our culture, and the stories we were sold. None of us is as free a thinker as we imagine. But some of us also share this: we admit we're sinners, believe in Christ, and confess Him as Lord—becoming newborn creations, on a path of discovery, discernment, discipleship, development, and deployment, until one day we depart.

Did you know you talk to yourself more than anyone else talks to you? You're your most prominent counselor. So tell yourself the truth—it'll help today.

Next Steps: Take One

I want to challenge you with practical action steps in your time, treasure, training, tools, thoughtfulness, toughness, tenderness, and thankfulness. I'll give you many—just take one. Don't go too fast; you can't bake a cake by skipping the milk.

In your time with God, slow down tomorrow and be still in His presence. Try that for six days and give a report next Sunday. With your treasure, instead of holding tightly, choose to live generously this week. And practice gratitude—mention in the morning the names of the people God has placed in your life. Gratitude is some of the best soil for the fruit of the Spirit to grow. There's always something to be thankful for, and you always see what you're looking for.

I'm responsible to you, but not for you. You'll stand before God—not in judgment, because of Christ, but at an award ceremony: "How'd you run? What did you do with the talents, the treasure, the time I gave you?" This is a marathon, not a sprint—one day at a time. The tortoise always beats the hare on fire.

Every gathering should look a little like ESPN: Encouragement, Scripture, Prayer, and Next steps. If there's no next step, what are we doing? This is a journey with Jesus, and we've got to move forward—from lost to saved, saved to pastored, pastored to discipled, and discipled to mobilized. I hope our time today has helped you listen and learn from the Word so you can love, live, and lead like Jesus—better today than yesterday.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You so much for this church. I'm impressed by them; 7:30 is an amazing time to begin a service. As they step into their week, Lord, go before them. My approach and style might be a little much, but I pray there's something there they can grab hold of—that they would know they're loved. If they heard nothing else today, let them know how much You love them, that Your love is inseparable, initiating, and incomprehensible. May they go out with their heads lifted toward heaven, filled with the joy of the Lord, and may Your joy be their strength. Bless them, bless them, bless them, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God. Amen.