Two Commands (Part 1)

Two Commands: Loving God

In the days before Jesus was teaching, a man went to all the philosophers and religious teachers of the world (or those he knew of, anyway...) and asked them to explain their religion or philosophy while he stood on one foot. If they could do that, he would convert. None he found were able to do so. Until he found a Rabbi. He asked him the same question. The Rabbi raised and grasped his foot, said “Love the Lord your God with your heart and soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. The rest is commentary.” Impressed, the man converted to Judaism on the spot. Biblical faith is not hard. It’s stunningly simple. What’s hard is how it confronts us with our failure to abide by those two simple rules.

This was brought home to me one time when a family member was in tears one time. She was struggling with what it meant to be a Christian, because the Pastor of her church gave her some advice she was having difficulty following.  He told her that for her to be a full Christian, she needed add some extra bible studies to her already full schedule and take on service in his church. After adding these items she was feeling more burdened than before and a failure as a Christian. Life seemed more chaotic than ever. She was wondering if there even is a God who is interested in her. After all, she was doing “everything right,” but life seemed out of control.

I believe that this Pastor missed the mark in his advice. I explained to my family member that the Christian life is not found in how many Bible studies you attend, or in helping to facilitate a VBS. While those things are important, I walked this person back to something even more fundamental: love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.

This is the true basics. Rather than create vast lists about finding success as a Christian, or reading books about generating spiritual fruit, or being stuck as a square peg in some aspect of Church service, core Christianity is found in how we are living those two simple rules (again, I understand a faith in Jesus Christ as savior is the necessary first step—we are assuming that this has been taken).

We must begin by asking ourselves: what is the direction and propellent of our life? Any rocket needs a target to hit (direction) and propllent to drive it forward. Like a rocket, we need to know our what our destination is, and what our propellent is. For Lebron James it's basketball greatness. For Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, maybe it's making amazing devices. For a Pastor of a church maybe it's having a large membership roll and big budget. While these things can be good of themselves, are they really about loving God with everything you have?  The answer to the this question, about the direction and propellent of our life, the Christian must include a consideration of that Great Command of Love.  

For direction, do we seek, in however God has made us, to honor and glorify God with our life purpose and choices? Do we seek to please him? Is it a concern to us how we may have to report to him on our choices when we die? Do we want to “put a smile on his face”?

For propellent, or thrust, do our passions line up to push us toward pleasing God? Do we engage our emotions in healthy ways, based on how God has made us, to seek to honor God. If you are passionate about art, maybe God has wired you to use that passion to decorate a sanctuary; Or perhaps to use your art skills to glorify God in your creations; maybe even to give you credibility to be able to represent Christ in the art community. 

Loving God doesn’t mean you sit up on a mountain top in continual contemplation of scripture. Scripture is important, yes. We also can love God with the skills and talents, yes even passions, that he has given to us. He can use you. He may need to train you and hone you. But yes, he can use you. The question is, can you use those things to express your devotion and willingness to him. Of course you can! As you consider what you do for life and for pleasure, we have to include a consideration of "How can I honor my God and express devotion to Him through these things he has given me."