When a scribe asked Jesus which commandment mattered most, the Lord answered without hesitation:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength… and thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these" Mark 12:30–31.

It sounds simple, but the words cut deep. Who among us has ever loved God with all that we are? Who has always loved others the way we love ourselves? If we are honest, none of us. And that is precisely the point. This commandment is not here to show us how strong we are, but rather how desperately we need God's love to fill us.

We do not begin with our love for God. We start with His love for us.

We love him, because he first loved us 1 John 4:19.

Before you ever thought of Him, He had already set His love on you. Before you ever lifted your head toward heaven, He came down to you in Christ.

Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is not about straining harder. It is about responding to the One who has already poured His love into every part of your life. Real love rises when you finally believe you are already loved.

Jesus tied love for God to love for neighbor. That is where love gets tested in the grit of daily life. It is one thing to say you love God. It is another thing to forgive the person who hurt you.

Love refuses to keep score. Forgiveness does not excuse the wrong. It means laying down your right to get even. You know love has taken hold of you when you no longer want the one who hurt you to suffer for it. And let's be honest, that is not something we can pull off on our own. That is the supernatural love of God working in us.

I remember reading about Luke Bryan driving through Tennessee when he saw a woman stuck on the roadside with a flat tire and two young kids in tow. He stopped his car, got out, and changed her tire. No fanfare, no publicity stunt, just one person helping another when they needed it most. That's love in its purest form: not grand gestures or beautiful words, but rolling up your sleeves when someone's in trouble.

The good news is, we are not left to figure this out alone. The very One who gave the commandment now lives within us. His Spirit pours God's love into our hearts. His compassion flows through our hands. His forgiveness becomes our forgiveness.

What He requires of us, He supplies in us.

When the scribe answered wisely, Jesus told him,

"Thou art not far from the kingdom of God" Mark 12:34.

The man saw the truth, but he had not yet stepped into it.

And here is the sobering reality. Knowing the correct answer is not enough. Admiring Jesus is not enough. The kingdom is not an idea to agree with, but a King to receive.

Being "not far" still leaves you outside.

So maybe the question is not, Am I loving enough? The real question is, Am I letting myself be loved?

Because once you receive His love, forgiveness flows. Once you taste grace, you extend it. Once His love fills your heart, it will spill into every relationship, toward God, toward your family, toward neighbors, and even toward enemies.

This is the heart of the Christian life. It is not complicated, but it will cost you your pride, your bitterness, and your right to yourself. Yet in losing those things, you gain everything.

Because when you love, it is no longer you. It is Christ in you. And that is where real life begins.