the long & short of it

Matthew 22

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.

35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:

36 "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?"

  37 Jesus replied,

"'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.'

38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

39 A second is equally important:

'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

This section came from the chapter I read yesterday.

I've talked about this passage before here in this blog.

Jesus is asked a question with the hope of trapping Him.

Jews had a gajillion rule, regulations, & commands.

It was a heavy, HEAVY load.

Jesus cuts to the chase & sums up the whole of what it means to God to follow Him.

What Jesus said is most important to God can be summed up in 4 words.

4 words...

Love God, love people.

And that's all there is to it for us, too.

Love God, love people.

And as Jesus said, that's the long & short if it.