Activity – Priority Targets – The Reflectionary

We are going to illustrate what Jesus said are the greatest commandments. You will need a sheet of paper and a pencil, and some colouring pencils or highlighters.

Draw three circles, one inside another, so that it looks like a target. You can cut round the largest circle if you like.

In the outer circle write or draw things that are good, but not lasting. These might be: promotion, status, wealth. Include activities such as sports, parenting, church activities. (Yes, even those – you don’t get into heaven by attending Bible class every week.)

The next circle is for people. Have you noticed how many times the Bible tells us to look after our possessions or to remember our careers or to be faithful in attending this or that group?

Not ever. It tells us to look after the widows and orphans. It tells us to remember the alien in our land. It tells us to be faithful in prayer and in giving to the poor.

So write or draw people in this circle. Name your friends and family, your colleagues, the mums at the school gate, the blokes down the pub, the people in your street – if you do not have them on your heart, who will? These are your neighbours.

In the centre, put prayer. And I don’t mean prayer meetings, I mean the ‘sit in your room with the door shut and talk to your father in heaven who sees the unseen’ prayer. I mean sitting with our Lord without a multitude of words. This is where we learn to Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength. I speak to myself here.

Colour the inner circle as we hear these words: “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Colour the middle circle as we hear this, and repeat the words to yourself: The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

We leave the outer circle plain.