Mark 12:33
"And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
Practical Christianity in action. When someone asks, “What does it mean to be a Christian?” this is the answer. It is an answer that, unfortunately, many believers themselves do not grasp. The reason is because that the Christian life is more than just following a list of rules or being good. It’s about an attitude and a way of life.
In order to fully understand this idea, we need to couple Mark 12:33 with another couple of verses, namely Romans 12:1-2 — I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. God does not want a bunch of rule-followers who only do what they do to get to heaven. He wants people who will give their lives to Him out of love, and will live for Him because they want to do so, not because they are forced to do so.
The problem with the religious establishment of the first century and before was that so much emphasis was placed upon animal sacrifice and strict adherence to the Law. That was the old system. But when Jesus came He took the role of the perfect and only sacrifice, dying once for all sinners and all sin. At that moment, humanity was offered the opportunity to go from outsiders to insiders, from worshiping God from afar to being part of His family.
Having the right attitude is essential in being a Christian. If you notice the phrasing in Mark 12:33, you find that what the Lord desires is a right heart, right attitudes, above empty actions or ritual. For instance, loving with all the heart, with understanding, and with the entire soul and strength are attitudes toward God. Loving one’s neighbor as oneself is an attitude toward our fellow man (recall Christ’s response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?”). These attitudes toward God and toward man are the right attitudes, the ones He wishes us to have.
But as we look at the end of the verse, we find that these attitudes are more valuable to the Lord than animal sacrifices or offerings (whether it’s an offering of our possessions, efforts, time, or anything else). In days of old, only parts of the animals were burned as sacrifices, and only for extremely special and rare occasions was the entire sacrifice burned. Jesus, then, is saying that the attitude of the heart, toward God and fellow man, is better than even the most important and special sacrifices. It’s more than just going through the motions. It’s a living religion of the heart, not a “dead” religion of form.
When we ask ourselves “What would Jesus do?” or “What does the Lord want?” we must use these verses explored in this discussion. It is a fact that none of us live exactly where we should, but our goal should be to follow the instructions the Lord gave us in His word, which we have already examined. God has a desire for living sacrifices. Are you living for Him? Are you sacrificing yourself daily for His will and not yours? Fulfillment, satisfaction and success come from a life lived sacrificially for Him, and when we love Him with all we have and are, and our neighbors as much as ourselves, only then are we living the way God wishes. And only then are we transformed and can prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.
Sounds good to me.
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