“One of the teachers of the law came heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had give them a good answer, he asked Him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Here, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”
(Mark 12:28-31 NIV)
Today is Pentecost. It’s a favorite Sunday of mine; the day the church remembers and reenacts the power of the Holy Spirit descending upon the disciples. And as exciting as that is; I’m reminded, Jesus called us to love before He called us to preach and before He filled us with power.
We can so easily get these priorities rearranged. As pentecostal people, we love to emphasize the power of the Holy Spirit coming on flesh. But friend, look at the order in scripture: first Jesus gave the Great Commandment. He reinforced love as the highest agenda in the Kingdom of God. First we love God, then we love others. After this command to love, He gave us the Great Commission. Jesus told us to preach the gospel to the whole of the earth. And lastly, He imparted His Spirit to empower our huge and impossible task. We definitely can’t complete the Great Commission without Him. But look again and see how love came first.
The first step toward fulfilling God’s purposes and receiving His power is falling in love with the person of Jesus. When we are in love, everything else will fall into place.
One last thought: if we have received the Holy Spirit and He hasn’t made us more loving, we’ve missed the point. God is love, so more of His Spirit means more of His love. If we are struggling to love, we may need reprioritize. It is not my aim today to minimize the importance of Pentecost, but to reinforce the reason for Pentecost.
“For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in You through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV)
Lord, forgive us for rearranging Your priorities. We are excited about Your Spirit and the benefits He brings, but take us back to basics. Remake us into loving individuals. Let love flow though our frames as we learn to love You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Show us how to love our neighbor as ourself. Impassion us for the Great Commission and fill us up with Your power to complete the task. We require Your aid in all of these areas because we are willing our flesh is weak. Mark us more like You. Amen.