Two Keys of the Successful Christian Life
Mark 12:28
"And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?"
If you were to study the Scriptures and make a summary of the successful Christian life, you would find that the answer Jesus gave to the question above is the summary. In an attempt to catch Jesus saying something wrong, the scribes asked Jesus which commandment was the most important commandment. Jesus answered by showing them that Christianity hinges on two things; your treatment of God, and your treatment of mankind. If you get both of these areas right, then you will be successful in your Christian life.
Jesus described how He expects you to treat Him by saying that you should love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. This is interesting because these areas make up your whole being. He wants you to love Him with your heart, which is your emotions. He wants you to love him with your soul, which is your character. He wants you to love Him with your mind, which is your intellect. Finally, He wants you to love Him with your strength, which is your effort and zeal.
However, it is interesting that God says you are to do these things to the best of your ability. Notice He uses the words, "with all." Your all is not someone else's all. Some people are more emotional than others, but you are to love Him with all of your emotions. Some people who have only been saved a short time don't have the character of those who have been saved longer, but with whatever Christian character you have you are to live a life for God with it. Not every person has the same intellect, but with whatever intellect you have you are to love Him. Not everybody has the same level of physical strength, but with whatever strength you do have you are to love Him with all of it. In other words, God doesn't measure your love in these areas by comparing them to others, but He measures your love to Him by comparing them to what you can do. God wants all of your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Furthermore, God says that the second key to successful Christianity is your treatment of others. God expects you to treat others the same way you would treat yourself. For example, you are to treat the fallen the same way you would treat yourself if you fell. You are to treat the successful the same way you would treat yourself when you are successful. You are to treat the grieving the same way you would treat yourself if you were grieving. You are to treat the young Christian the same way you would treat yourself if you were a young Christian. A successful Christian will be one who considers how they would want to be treated in every situation, and use that as the guide to how they would treat others.
Christianity is not really hard to figure out. If you will treat God and mankind right, then you will be a successful Christian. If you get one of these areas wrong, then you will get both of them wrong. They both depend upon each other. If you treat God right, then you will treat mankind right. Likewise, if you treat mankind right, you will treat God right. They both hinge upon each other. If you want to be successful as a Christian, then focus on getting these two areas right and you will succeed.