Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your
God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most
important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set
alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two
commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from
them.”
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
Some of my friends have been
talking on Facebook about “cleaning up” their “Friend” lists by removing
those folks who insist on spewing venomous statements and sharing
pictures/posts that target certain groups or ideologies in a negative or
hateful manner. They have been especially swift in removing those who
claim to love Jesus in one post…and make ugly comments in the next. And
I don’t blame them one bit!
This scripture passage is a key
component of our Christian discipleship. Jesus sums up all of His
teachings in two simple rules. It reminds me of when I was a
kindergarten teacher. I had three “rules”…1) be kind to others; 2) work
and play quietly; 3) respect other people’s property. Nothing else was
needed. When a child would misbehave, I would ask, “Are you being kind
to others? Were you working/playing quietly? Did that respect XYZ’s
property?” If the answer was “No” to any of these questions, the child
knew that there would be consequences.
We are Jesus’
“kindergartners,” so to speak…and His rules are as simple and inclusive
as that of any teacher of 5-year-olds. “Are you loving God with all of
your passion, prayers and intelligence…with every thought, word and
action? Are you treating others with the same level of respect,
kindness, love and compassion that you desire?” I’m afraid that
for some of us, the answer would have to be “No!”…and we must accept
that there are consequences for this response…and that we grieve God in
the process.
I’m going to give some of us the benefit of the doubt and say that we don’t fully intend
to be hurtful with many of our comments and actions. We don’t mean to
be so judgmental. But we are…and sometimes, it’s a case of being a bit
of a bonehead! We don’t stop to think about what we are posting/saying –
or our body language – or even the “public displays” that we make. To
live as a true disciple of Christ, you have to live intentionally…which
means that we must pay close attention to every thought, word and
action.
Someone noted at morning Bible study this week that she
sometimes stops and reminds herself that her bumper sticker advertises
our local church – and that there is a “fish” symbol on her car…so she
really ought not to be an impolite driver or wag her finger at other
motorists who irritate her! And we all should stop and check ourselves -
and our words and actions - at every turn. We should ask those two
questions…”Does this demonstrate our love for God?” and “Are we loving
others as we love ourselves and wish for others to love us?” More
importantly, we should also ask a third question…”Are we loving others
as Jesus loves us?” Because I guarantee you…He is not demonstrating anything BUT love toward us!
I’ve
not done a “social media house cleaning” in a while…but I may have to
soon. I don’t want anyone to see posts associated with me that indicate
in any way that I condone unloving statements or actions – from anyone.
And I pray that when Jesus asks if I have been “following the rules”…I
can wholeheartedly answer, “Yes, LORD! With all I’ve got!” What about
you?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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