When someone asked Jesus which commandment was the most significant, he gave a profound answer that sums up what it means to practise discipleship.
Jesus tells us that the most important thing you can do is love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second most important thing is to love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:28–34).
In other words, what does it mean to love God with all our being and to love our neighbours as ourselves? How can we put discipleship into practice in our daily lives?
In this devotional article, we will explore what discipleship in practice looks like.
Loving God with all our being
Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength means prioritising Him in everything we do. We don’t just love God with our emotions but also with our intellect, our will, and our physical strength. Here are some ways we can practise loving God with all our being:
- Worshipping God in spirit and in truth, with our hearts and voices lifted up in adoration and praise
- Praying regularly to seek God’s will in our lives
- Reading and studying the Bible to understand better who God is and what He desires from us.
- Surrendering our will to God and doing what He tells us to do, even when it’s complicated or inconvenient
Loving our neighbour as ourselves
To love our neighbour as ourselves, we treat them with the same kindness, respect, and compassion that we want for ourselves. Every person deserves our love and grace, regardless of their background or circumstances.
Here are some ways we can practise loving our neighbours:
- Forgiving those who have wronged us and seeking reconciliation when possible
- Showing hospitality to those in need by providing a meal and/or a place to stay
- Serving others with humility and generosity, putting their needs before our own
- Being a witness to God’s love and grace in our lives
The connection between loving God and loving our neighbour
It’s important to note that these two commandments are interconnected. It is essential that our love for God inspires and motivates us to love our neighbours, and our love for our neighbours should be an expression of our love for God.
We will discover that, when we live these commands in our daily lives, we are not only following rules but also living our lives ‘fully’ and ‘meaningfully’.
Final Thoughts
To follow Jesus is to put discipleship into practice. The essence of discipleship in practice is loving God with all our being and loving our neighbours as ourselves. As Jesus’ disciples, we must put our faith into action, serve others with humility and grace, and seek God’s will in all we do.
You can show others Christ’s love and help them grow closer to Him by living out these commands daily. The way of discipleship is to live out our love for God and love for the “other.”
This is part 4 of the series “Discipleship”.
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