Ok, let me pick up where I left off.  As you will recall from Part 1, we were looking at how Jesus was responding to the question of what He believes is the greatest of the commandments and He shares this ...

"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 12:30-31 (NIV)

Part 2 of this greatest list is this . . . Love People 

Well let me be clear, Jesus doesn't actually say to "love people".  He says that we are to love our neighbor.  However if you look at the story he tells along with this about the man robbed & then cared for by the Samaritan man, it is obvious it means more than just that guy you like who lives next door to you.  In my heart, I honestly believe that means we are to love all people, even those we don't especially know real well or even like a whole lot.  To love your neighbor means to love those you meet each day.  Let me now see if I can explain how this works in my life & yours . .  

First of all, this teaching of Jesus is clearly that He intends for our lives to not be so focused on I, me & mine.  When we begin to put others into a more prominent role in our lives, life takes on greater meaning.  After all selfishness is at the heart of the world and we are called to live in a very contrary place in the world.  “In the world, but not of the world . . .”   Hence, the people around us are supposed to matter.  We are called to care about them & about what happens to them.     

Second, at the heart of loving God is loving what He loves . . . and He loves us.  For many, this seems shocking!  From our first breath, selfishness reigns.  Into that existence, Jesus intent is to squeeze unselfishness.  His desire is for us to open our hearts & minds to more than our needs, wants & desires. 

For me then, the only question that really arises from this is one of application.  How do I live this?  How do I put this into practice?  Where can I get practice in the things that matter?  And the answer is simple.  Find a group of people and learn to love them.   This is why one of the key principles of the church is having every member & affiliated person actively involved in a small group. 

Small groups that study the Bible together give every one a place to get to know people.  Small groups provide a safe place to witness love in action & to take baby steps of loving others.  We pray together.  We study together.  We reason together.  We put up with one another.  We tease one another.  We learn to care about those in the group.  We celebrate the successes & mourn the losses.  More than any other place; small groups help us to then apply the same principles of loving people in the world around us.    back to Part 1                                 continue to part 3

I hope this helps you to understand a little more about the church.  I also hope it helps you to see the importance of finding a small group of your very own.  Check out the site for days & times of small groups that are already going on.  If one of those doesn’t work, give me a call & perhaps we can help you get one started that does.  You can reach me through the church at 407-293-2768 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  God bless!