Not far from the kingdom of God!

So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him. (Mark 12:32-34 NKJV)

This comes from the passage in which the scribe asks Jesus what the greatest commandment is. Of course Jesus' response, in short, is to love God and to love your neighbor. The passage that Jesus quotes is of course a part of the Hebrew Shema which was the very center of the law and written mostly to establish that there is only one God. To read more about the Hebrew Shema you can go here.

The scribe is excited because that is exactly what he believes as well. He says "Well said, Teacher." And proceeds to repeat in his own words what Jesus said. This answer prompts one of the best responses Jesus ever is recorded giving one of the scribes, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Not too long ago I wrote a few posts exploring what Jesus said about the Kingdom of God and also the importance of studying the Kingdom. Here we have a strong hint as to what the kingdom is all about. It is a kingdom built on love. It was established by the love Jesus has for us and it is spread forth by the love we have for God and for our neighbor.

If we want to seek the Kingdom of God then we should start by seeking what it means to love. Seek opportunities to show love to people around and do it just to love them not to try and convert them. Nothing will bring you closer to the Kingdom of God then practicing love in your day to day life. 

Get out and show love and spread the Kingdom!