Not Far from Heaven

"You are not far from the Kingdom of God." Mark 12:34

How wonderful for anyone to hear this from Jesus! Especially for one of the scribes that Jesus routinely called hypocrites or even vipers! For one thing, this scribe genuinely wanted to know which was the first of all the commandments. 

Jesus answered that it was to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. The second greatest is to love our neighbor as ourselves. "There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe then agreed with Him, saying, "Excellent, Teacher! You are right in saying thus. Loving God and our neighbor is worth more than any burnt offering and sacrifice."

Can we love a God we do not know? Can we love a neighbor we do not know? Perhaps it is time to put more effort and time into getting to know God better so we will not be far from the reign of God. In getting to know the Lord better, we will want to express that love by loving our neighbors, even the ones we do not know, just as Mother Teresa did.