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
The greatest command that our Lord gives us is to love. We are called to love Him with the entirety of who we are and as an act of our devotion to Him, love our neighbors. Jesus teaches us in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), that the most important thing is not who is our neighbor but that we love. This command was foundational to those whom we read about in scripture and therefore it must be foundational to our congregation. Before we can reach out to others we must first love our God who then gives us a heart for others.
“You cannot lead the people, if you don’t love the people. You cannot save the people, if you don’t serve the people.” Dr. Cornel West