Back To Basics Part II: Love is the Whole Enchilada

Back To Basics got so long that I left something very important out. I do not think the church of Jesus Christ in the United States is known by its love for one another and its neighbors (at least not nearly well enough):

John 13: 34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Is it our eloquence that matters or the sweetness of our words? No:

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

Is it foreseeing future events; having all the knowledge the world wants or needs; or faith enough to move mountains? No:

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

Is it giving everything to the poor; or being willing to die rather than deny God? No:

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

The church of Jesus Christ in the United States needs a revival; and that revival can only start with, and flow from:

(Mark 12:28-31) Now⁵⁸ one of the experts in the law⁵⁹ came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus⁶⁰ answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love⁶¹ the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’⁶² The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’⁶³ There is no other commandment greater than these.

To: Back the Basics: The Series