Two Main Keys To Live

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Text: Luke 10:25-28

 
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”  He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Thoughts:

In these passages, an expert of the law was asking, "What must i do to inherit eternal life?" He asked this just to test Jesus.

Now, let's back up a little bit . In John 17:3, Jesus defines eternal life as : knowing God, the only true God and Jesus Christ. 

Now this is eternal life:

that they may know you, the only true God, 

and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

 (John 17:3)

 
The word "know" there in Greek is "epignosis", which means, "experiential knowledge".

But, let's notice how Jesus replied after he said, loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself, he said, "do this and you will live."

I've noticed that Jesus' answer to the question of that expert of the law was the key to live on earth.

Two Main Keys To Live:

1) Love The Lord Your God

     a) With all your heart-it talks about the place where the issues of life are.

     b) With all your soul- it talks about your emotion and will.

     c) With all your strength- it talks about your vigor, your physical capabilities or what   you can do (your talents, skills, abilities)

     d) With all your mind-it talks about your intellect, your thinking, your knowledge, your wisdom.

Notice the word "your". It's a personal relationship with God. It's your personal relationship with God. Without a personal relationship with God, your life is nothing. You may have all the riches on this earth but if you don't love the Lord as your Lord and God, your life is worthless. Your personal relationship with God should matter the most in life.

I like this quote from the book, Attitudes That Attract Success, "The most important decision you will ever make in life is your decision to follow Jesus Christ. Your decision will determine the eternity of your life. The second most important decision you'll make will be the attitude with which you will follow the Lord. This decision will determine the quality of your life."

2) Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

    a) If you don't love yourself, you can't love your neighbor.

    b) Who is your neighbor? Sometimes, the person whom you don't like is your greatest neighbor. In verses 30-37, we can see there the illustration of a kind of a neighbor.

  “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, 

when he was attacked by robbers.

They stripped him of his clothes,

beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 

A priest happened to be going down the same road, 

and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  

 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, 

passed by on the other side. 

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; 

and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.

Then he put the man on his own donkey, 

brought him to an inn and took care of him. 

The next day he took out two denarii

and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ 

he said, ‘and when I return, 

I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

Jews do not associate with Samaritans. They have a saying that  goes like this: "I thank God because i am not a woman, nor a dog, nor a Samaritan." But the Jew in that passage was neither helped by the priest, nor the Levite but by a Samaritan. Interesting. 
 
There may be people whom you don't like but sometimes, they are the people who could help you. Whatever kind of people they are, love them as yourself. And the saying "no man is an island' is correct. What will benefit you if you just love yourself...if you are just always thinking of yourself. Don't be a kind of person who always think of "me, i, my, myself and mine" alone.

God wants us to enjoy life...loving him and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves...these are the main keys to live.

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