"Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'" Matthew 22:37-40
Happy to see that my friend had gotten accepted into the Boston Marathon this week, I reflected back to a conversation we had when he was trying to qualify. Knowing that I was not only a running coach but a runner who had been blessed to run this iconic race several times before, he asked me what the secret was to achieving a qualifying time to which I replied, "The simple answer is this.... you have to run a lot. And along with high mileage weeks, you have to add intermittent speed work."
Speaking of simple answers, when the Pharisees asked Jesus what the greatest commandment in the law was, He answered the question in two sentences and in order of importance, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... Love your neighbor as yourself.'" He then explained that "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." In other words, when a person fulfills these two commands, they keep all the others. These two commands are the simple summary of the Ten Commandments and the other Old Testament moral laws.
I don't know about you but I find it’s much easier knowing what to do than what not to do, wouldn’t you agree? So that means if you and I put all our energy into loving the Lord and loving others we will naturally keep the commandments. How's that for a simple answer?
Heavenly Father, thank You for making the commandments so simple to understand. May we meditate on this and focus on doing what is right rather than what we might be doing wrong. Help us to love others the same way Jesus did and to love You more than anything in the world. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
Love the Lord - Lincoln Brewster
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