Mark 12:29-30
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with ll 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."
In Primal Mark Batterson simplifies Christianity to the "primal"truth contained in this verse, which is "Love God, Love others". Growing up as a Christian with constant exposure to all the different ideologies, theologies, concepts, so called "truths", and good natured attempts to return to the "basics", I have to admit that I've probably greatly missed the essence of what Jesus is saying here. As I've read this verse more recently and heard it time and again as the theme of our church I have tried to keep it primal. However, my inability to focus on a single idea for more than a few minutes plagues me. Currently it feels like most of the time I'm stick in a "love me first, Love God and others as time permits...." which sucks.
I have tried to sit still for a few minutes to remember the places where i first encountered this primal truth of God, something similar to Batterson's experience in the Roman catacombs. And I have found that I really don't have one. I have moments where I have felt really close to God and I remember those clearly. Unfortunately, the moments when I felt anything but those primal experiences are the ones that stand out most. I hope, as I continue this study and learn how to imperfectly teach and convey these seemingly "perfect" ideas to members of my local revolution, that I can look back on this experience as one of those primal moments. I also hope that the moment goes to a depth beyond "feeling".
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