“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:40)

It’s not complicated. God’s basic will for your life as a whole, and for every day, is actually fairly simple. In Matthew 22 Jesus said “the whole Law and the Prophets” hang on these two basic commandments: love God, and love people. And remember, this is not merely some “church guru” who came up with this idea; it is JESUS HIMSELF who taught it!

EVERYTHING God wants you to do is summed up in these two ideas. Other verses and commandments help us to understand and apply these. For example, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images” from the 10 Commandments helps us to know how to love God: we are not to adore Him through idols. And  the New Testament’s “Do not lie to one another” helps us to understand one way that we are to love people. And so it is with all of the other commandments. They all fall under these two basic categories, and help us know how to better fulfill and apply them: Love God, and love people.

So on those days when life’s demands seem to make your head spin, maybe it will help to remember what Jesus said here. What God wants from you today can all be boiled down to these two things: love Him, and love the other people He made. Now go and use these two great commandments to guide your actions and decisions today