The Law Condensed

by Lilienne, teenage Morning Manna member

This morning, I was studying Matthew 22:36–40.

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Using Strong's Concordance, I looked up what the words meant in the original language. When I replaced key words with their meanings, I came up with this paraphrase:

"Master, which is the exceeding great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt agape (which means unselfish love) the Lord thy God with all thy thoughts and feelings, with all thy vitality (actions?), and with all thy deep thoughts. This is the chief and exceeding great commandment. The second is like unto it, Thou shalt agape anyone you come in contact with as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the old testament law."

Wow! So basically the law means, "Love God & love your neighbor," which then can be condensed into one word: Love.  

Do we love God that much? Do we put others before ourselves that much?

It's the one chief and exceeding great commandment!

Look on the Inside

by Gabrielle Rich

Sometimes old sayings remind us of important truths—adages like “looks can deceive,” and “be nice to others no matter how they look, sound, or smell.” We all know that in order to be like Jesus, we have to look on the inside and not judge by appearances—and yet many people do just the opposite. When I was about eight years old, something happened that really helped me understand why it’s so important to look past the externals.

A week after Christmas, my mom and I went to the grocery store. For some reason, it seemed that every place we went in the store, I saw an old man with a cane. The man had a big, prominent wart, and I thought he looked very strange. I hoped I wouldn’t have to talk to him! I went through the whole store thinking about the funny man and hiding behind my mom so I wouldn’t have to look at him.

Creative Corner Online: Different Diamanté

Creative Corner Online: Different Diamanté

The diamantés we printed in Young Disciple last week all followed the opposites format: starting with one concept and bridging to its opposite, in the middle of the poem. However, that's not the only way to write a diamanté. Some poets use synonyms for the first and last word of the poem, instead of antonyms. Here's one last diamanté we received, with a different twist. Nice work, Jacob! We love how uplifting this poem is!

Patience

Trustworthy, undaunted

Watching, waiting, believing,

Time, labor, Homeland, peace

Singing, enjoying, praising,

Beautiful, perfect,

Heaven

—Jacob Martin, age 17

Creative Corner: Acrostic Challenge!

We challenged you to write acrostics using the first letters of your name, and we received many creative responses!

Remember your Creator in your youth.
Awake to righteousness and do not sin.
Commit your way to the Lord.
Hold fast the confession of your faith.
Enter not into the path of the wicked.
Lay hold on eternal life.