28One of the scribes came and heard them arguing,
and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is
the foremost of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The foremost
is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30AND YOU SHALL LOVE
THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH
ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31“The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is
no other commandment greater than these.”
It seems like Jesus is saying if you focus on these 2
commandments, you will be on the right path. Let’s break this up a little and
give some thought to each aspect.
Focus point #1: All of
Scripture in a nutshell – but nothing new
Jesus responded by reciting Deut 6:4-5, words from Moses in the
introduction to his giving of the 10 commandments. He then quotes Leviticus
19:18 from a section where Moses is giving laws about how to live with those
around you. Both were well known to the Israelites, where commandment #1 was part of the Shema -perhaps
even written on the cloak the scribe wore. Although short, there is much depth in
these words (Matt 22:40).
Focus point #2: All in
You shall love God “With all your heart, soul, mind, and
strength.” What more is there? There should be no area of our lives we hide
from God. In everything we should be “All in” – 110%. Can this be hard? Sure –
the concerns and desires of this world constantly try to gain our
priority.
When things are crazy in your life, how do you
refocus?
- Are there any areas in your life where God isn’t #1?
- What can you do to change that?
- What do you think actually demonstrates that you are “loving the Lord your God”?
- Spending time, prioritizing, obedience,…..what else?
Focus point #3: We are
built to care for others
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” This commandment goes
beyond just being honest, kind, generous and respectful. It means to have a
sincere purposeful concern (agapaó) for all aspects of your neighbor’s life –
physical and spiritual. To “Love” infers the willingness to take action. Our
supreme and uttermost love and devotion is for God, but next are those made in
His image.
These can be tough words to follow, even for those closest to us
such as a spouse or child – to love them as we love ourselves. Those attitudes
we want removed from our lives- sin, greed, and selfishness – will always
linger to some degree and be in opposition to this command. To love, doesn’t
necessarily mean to always “like”. A neighbor’s attributes and character can be
offsetting.
So - How can we go about implementing “Loving our
neighbor as our self”?
- Golden Rule Matt 7:12
- Remember that a neighbor’s needs may not be the same as ours, the focus is on them
- A lot of times when its hard to do this, perhaps focus on just being obedient to God
Come up with some ideas on how you can
recognize when your pride, selfishness, and greed are getting in the way of
loving your neighbor – and how to take a step back, breathe, then try again.
I’m sure each of us can think of someone we know or know of
that has demonstrated their commitment to following these commandments. The
Bible has many examples of those who drastically altered their lives due to
loving God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength (Moses, Paul, the
apostles). Others demonstrated their sincere love for their neighbor (the good
Samaritan, Queen Esther, and Ruth). More recent examples include Corrie ten
Boom and The Village of Eyam (I encourage you to read up a bit on these two, very
inspiring- just google it).
Two commands, simple – but can be hard to fully follow. God
knows we are not perfect. He expects we will mess up. He knows each of us are
unique in our own nature and gifts, and our fulfilling these commands may look
a bit different from others. But, if these are the ruling principles inside us,
naturally this will affect all aspects of our lives – engaging us in everything
that will please God. He is after the sincerity of our hearts.
When we are overwhelmed in life, when even the Bible seems a
bit confusing, when there’s more advice from family and friends then we can
take in – perhaps focusing on these words from Jesus can help us clear our
heads, refocus, and find the peace obedience to these commands brings.
Previous to today, I had not heard of the stories of Corrie ten Boom or the Village of Eyam. After reading of them, it is difficult to not shed a tear of both sadness and inspiration. How could people have such a high regard for others? Because of the greatest commandment, to first love God above all else. To love fully is to care about whom and what the object of our love cares about. If we love God above all else, we have no choice but to also love His magnum opus; that which He gave His Son to redeem. The gospel enables us to see each other for what we really are: loved and cherished by God.
ReplyDeleteTo get back to basics, is what I do and think about loving God? Is what I do and think about loving others? The answers to those questions must guide my life.