SPRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/10/2023 7:48 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-6 “The Response of the Lord”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matthew 22:37-40
Message of the verses: “37 Jesus said to
him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the first and great commandment.
39 “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’”
This statement that John MacArthur now makes in this
commentary is something that for some it will be difficult to take. He writes that genuine love for one’s neighbor
is of the same kind as genuine love for God.
It is by choice purposeful, intentional, and active, not merely sentimental
and emotional. And it is measured, Jesus
said, by your love for yourself. When a
person is hungry, he feeds himself; when he is thirsty, he gets himself a
drink, and when he is sick, he takes medicine or sees a doctor—all because he
is so consumed with caring for himself.
He does not simply think or talk about food or water or medicine but
does whatever is necessary to provide those things for himself. A person never simply says to himself, ‘Go in
peace, be warmed and be filled,’ without doing anything to secure his needed
clothing and food (see James 2:16).”
In
this passage Jesus was assuming that people love themselves, not thinking that
they don’t love themselves. Paul states
in Eph. 5:29 “for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes
it, just as Christ also does the church.” MacArthur concludes this section: “And just as a person looks out for his own
welfare, both by the legitimacy of natural design as well as because of sinful
selfishness, he will also look out for the welfare of others if he truly loves
them.”
Looks
like that I will have to finish this SD in the morning as I have some things to
do before I go to teach our Sunday school class.
9/10/2023 8:06 AM
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