You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. This was Israel's creed - its fundamental belief - and was the guiding principle of their lives. Fastening the words to their foreheads meant that it was to be at the centre of all their thoughts and actions. The commandment of God is simple - not always easy - and right to the point. We are the ones who complicate it. Just imagine what it would be like if we all took this more seriously!

In a sense, Jesus did not teach anything entirely new. When the scribe asked him to name the greatest commandment, Jesus quoted the same passage from Deuteronomy. He added something from Leviticus - you shall love your neighbour as yourself. This made it very clear that the love of God and love of neighbour go together and cannot be separated. We can see that there is an unbroken bond and connection between Judaism and Christianity - we live by the same spiritual principles. The scribes were enlightened and got the point that love is the most important thing, not ritual or sacrifice. Jesus assured him that he was not far from the kingdom of God. Let us make practical, hands-on love our guiding light each day. We will be fulfilling the great commandment of God.