by Rev Douglas Brauner

Pointing to God’s love

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘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 12:29-31 English Standard Version

Lines are important to artists. Whether your sketching, painting, or pressing a shutter button artists pay attention to lines. There are many lines in this picture, however one set of lines leads the eyes to the bank building standing tall in the background. These lines tell us that the subject of the picture is this building.

Life is a merger of lines

Jesus talks of two sets of lines in his response to the scribe who was apparently trying to trap him. One of the lines leads from God to us, and back again. The second set of lines leads to the people in our lives.

We are called to love God above everything else.

The Apostle John reminds us that we love God because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). God’s love came down to us in Jesus. Empowered by this love, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we love God.

Jesus then reminds us that we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. What we don’t often see is the relationship between the two. The love of our neighbor ought to point to God’s love for us, and our love for him. The lines of this building are much greater than the lines leading to the building.

We can not separate loving others from loving God. Your acts of love for someone today will point to God’s love for you, and are ways of you displaying your love for God.

• Your kind words point to God’s love.
• Your patient listening points to God’s love.
• Your helping your children with homework points to God’s love.

Thank God that our love for others points to his love for us.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado