In Jesus’ time, it was common for rabbis to try to find a way to summarize the 613 Old Testament Commandments in as brief a statement as possible. So, it was not a surprise that people would ask Him which is the greatest of all the commandments. It was somewhat surprising that He added a second commandment.
    
After 2,000 years of our familiarity with the Two Great Commandments of Jesus, the obvious genius that He demonstrates in this teaching is obvious. The first of the Two Commandments is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is often portrayed, using the first tablet of the Ten Commandments, which contains the first three of the Ten Commandments, governing our relationship with God. The second tablet contains the last seven of the Ten Commandments, which are about our relationships with one another.
    
Our relationship with God comes first, above all else. Anything that is more important to us than God is our god. Think of a sailor navigating the seas by the North Star. Each decision that he makes about how to steer the ship is based on his orientation to the North Star. Love of God is our North Star. If our relationship to God is right, the rest of our lives will be right. If we get the first three of the Ten Commandments right, the last seven come much easier to us.
    
These two commandments can be portrayed as a cross, with the vertical beam symbolizing our relationship with God, and the horizontal beam symbolizing our relationship with others. If we follow the Cross of Jesus, we can never go wrong.