Daily Bread

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

I once heard a pastor teach that our love should be in two directions — vertical and horizontal. Vertical to God and horizontal to others, however, the two cannot exist independently —they go hand in hand, and perhaps the most important word in today's Bible passage is the word AND.

My first degree was in software engineering and I am a computer programmer. These days they are called coders, and if we were to put today's Bible reading into code, it would look something like this:

if ($lovegod AND $loveothers)
{ $christian = 'true'; }
else
{ $christian = 'false'; }

Throughout the Bible, God has a great deal to say to those who claim to love God but neglect to love others, and without loving others our prayer and worship is worthless. For example, the book of Amos teaches that true worship involves letting justice and righteousness flow from a heart that genuinely loves God, rather than merely performing religious rituals or offering sacrifices while ignoring the poor and perpetuating injustice. And the prophet Isaiah speaks frequently about worship, contrasting genuine heart-felt devotion with external ritual and human-made rules. He emphasises that true worship involves an inward reality, a change of heart, and a righteous lifestyle that expresses God's love and seeks justice — not just lip service or empty displays.

As well as being a coder, I'm also a progressive, meaning I believe God is still revealing themselves — their love, character, heart, and will — to humanity. We call this the 'ongoing revelation of God in the world' and we have come to understand that the word 'neighbour' does not just mean people but includes the world around us in that we also have a mandate for creation care.

Jesus did not say, "They will know you are my disciples if you go to church on Sunday," (i.e. just love God) but, "They will know you are my disciples if you love one another." (i.e. love others). Today, perhaps spend a moment in prayer asking the Holy Spirit to show you how you can extend your love to someone or to the world around you.

Holy God
Today, may I be
a vessel for your love.
May I extend your
compassion to each
person I meet
and be a bringer of
your joy and peace
to the world around me.