Not Far From the Kingdom of God.

 

Mar 12:32  And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 

Mar 12:33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 

Mar 12:34  And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question

Burnt offerings and sacrifices, these were required by God. The Ceremonial law was given by God and followed by God's chosen people. Yet, even as they took their lamb, their goat, their dove and sacrificed it - spilled its blood- gave its life, if they did not give it with a heart towards God and their fellow man, it meant nothing. How many sacrifices were made by people that counted for absolutely nothing? They walked away from their offering believing they'd done their bit, they went through the proper motions, made the effort and so because they'd done all that it meant their sins were forgiven and they were right with God. Yet going through the motions is not what God intended. Every single sacrifice made was to be offered from a contrite heart. When the sacrifices lacked contrition on the part of the giver, when the heart was void of remorse how could the sacrifice mean a single thing? 

You and I could not imagine taking an animal to a temple priest and taking part in ending the life of that animal, watching the blood be spilled, witnessing the life quickly ended, the last breath given. To those who had to do this often they could very quickly become numbed to the horror of it, just as today many a butcher who actually wields the weapon of death become immune to any feelings that might be associated with the killings. All part of life, an endless cycle, a job that must be done and so on and so forth.

The man who spoke these words- Mar 12:33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 

He was a part of the ceremonial law in burnt offerings and sacrifices- and he dared to say to Jesus that loving God the Father with all the heart and understanding, with all the soul and strength…and to love his neighbor… were MORE than ALL the burnt offerings and sacrifices, well this was astonishing really.  This man was claiming that LOVE- the heart- was better than the service set up to forgive man of their sins. How could he say such a thing? He could say it because without that LOVE those sacrifices were powerless. This man recognized the heart involvement was the power behind all the sacrifices and offerings. The people of God had forgotten the heart of it all and turned it into a true den of thieves stealing the love that belonged to God. Yes, moneychangers - buyers and sellers- had taken up in the temple exchanging their money and goods- they were thieves in the temple and they robbed God of so much by spoiling what was to be sacred. Their money alone didn't taint the temple, their darkened hearts void of love plunged it into the criminal sanctuary Jesus entered. 

Jesus told the man who recognized love's proper place that he wasn't far from the kingdom of God. God's kingdom is love. God is love. Our loving God is everything because from that love we can love! 

God wants us to LOVE with His love, to choose love above all. Love is shown in so many, many ways.

May God help us to comprehend like that man, that love is worth more than anything else we can attempt to offer Him. May we realize the place of love in our lives. We may not live in a system of animal sacrifice and offerings as this man did, but our hearts can grow hard and cold in our recognition of the sacrifice and offering of our LORD, our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. May our hearts not be turned to stone, but remain flesh, filled with the love we need, the love we must have to not be far from the kingdom of God!