“Jesus told him, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is exactly like it: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22: 37-39, International Standard Version Bible)

Loving God is primary. This means a conscious devotion to good, an awareness of the One Mind as supreme, not many minds (including our own) as having power and control. Jesus didn’t give this commandment as a call to do something either unnatural or difficult. Loving God is what we were made to do, and this love is our protection and peace. It’s being true to oneself.

And the second commandment is “exactly like it.” To love your neighbor as yourself is the same as the first commandment. It requires our devotion and it is the most natural expression of our love for God and His love for us. It is a must and not something we can get out of or do only some of the time. Our love for others is a requisite if we truly love God.

God is found in His ideas. To love God necessarily means to love that which expresses Him. This means loving others as the children of God they are, and loving oneself as well. Jesus did not equivocate. He was clear on the vital importance of these commandments. They would gain one access to heaven, to the peace and joy and dominion that is ours to experience here and now.

These commandments are not mere wishes for us to be better humans. They are God’s laws, the inherent principles that underlie our lives and which reveal to humanity the divine reality that Life, in fact, is Love.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.