Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it - love your neighbor as yourself. All the laws and prophets hang on these two commands.

This statement is found in Mark 12:29-31 and in Matthew 22:34-40.

It boils faith down to two things. They are, in order of importance, love God in every way that is possible and then focus that love on your neighbor.

Most people, in introspective moments, question what their purpose is in life.

That questioning is a natural by-product of who we are. God, the Creator of the Universe, put that instinct in each one of us. It isn't there by accident; it is there by design.

And while the answer to that question may look different for each person, there is one thing that we can all understand the same way: the answer to the question of our purpose in life is filtered through these two great commands. If the answer doesn't come through them, then it isn't the right answer.  It isn't our true purpose in life.

That's why it is so important for us to be actively going deeper in the things that God-in-the-Flesh said are the most important in life.

If we don't, it is like trying to go from Houston to New York City with your map or GPS routing you to Los Angeles. You'll  never get there.

As you consider spending 2012 in the intentional process of going deeper with the greatest commandment of Jesus, what are some things that come to your mind?