This morning, my study led me to Jesus being questioned by the Sadducees and Pharisees. At one point, they asked Him what the greatest commandment was, to which He pointed to “you shall love the Lord Your guard with all of your heart, all of your soul and all of your mind,” and the second which, He said, is just like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-40). All of the Law and Prophets, Jesus said, depended on these two commands of God. Think about that for a minute: every law is built upon these two. Everything God values is found in these two commandments. (I know, some who are jaded will say “What about the atrocities commanded in the Old Testament? What about the Wrath of God? To which I say “The wrath of God was poured out, sometimes using Israel, and sometimes AGAINST Israel because these two commandments were grossly violated, to a degree of perversion among the nations. God MUST judge if He is just, and the world shall be judged again because these have been violated again and again).
I wonder if you’ve ever considered this: we sin because we are so focused on ourselves, our wants, our wishes and our desires that we do not honor, nor worship Him with even a 10th of our heart, soul and mind. And when focused on ourselves, even our relationships are not about our neighbors, but about ourselves. The gods Israel and the nations they dispossessed, gods made by hands, were those that bolstered one’s idea of one’s self. They were selfish because they were crafted by selfish people or based on selfish people and demonic influence. And we become like the objects of our worship.
Loved ones, if we love the Lord our God with everything we are, and if we love our neighbors as we desired to be loved, we are focused, not on ourselves, but on God and the welfare of those around us. Loved ones, the world, and its constant draw will grow dim in our eyes if we are focused on the One who is higher than we are, and in spreading His love to all around us. We will be unburdened by our sins and the cares of this world if we cast our cares upon the One who cares for us, and then carry one another’s burdens. Stop focusing in all the wrong directions. Give all of your efforts to loving God and your neighbor.
Matthew 22:34-40
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
1 Peter 5:1-11
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Romans 13:8-14
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Comments