A Pharisee, who was a lawyer,
once tried to tempt Jesus with the question, “Which is
the great commandment in
the law?” Jesus replied to him and his Pharisee buddies as follows;
“…Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 22:37-39
Deuteronomy, Mark and Luke
state almost exactly the same words. All are basically saying that we are to
love God so much that everything and everyone else come nowhere close to our
feelings we have for Him. Even our most precious loved ones fall second to our
love for God.
Jesus goes on to say that we
are to love everyone, which includes any other person we chance to meet, just
as much as we love our self.
So, love God even more than
our closest family, and love anyone else as much as we do our self. That is a
tall order. Has anyone ever arrived at that plateau? I know Christ has, but
what about us?
Jesus mentions some
requirements in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) that are also impossible
for mankind. Consider too the Ten Commandments. Only He could fulfill them all,
and He did.
Should we then ignore the
Sermon on the Mount, the Ten Commandments, and Matthew 22:37-39? That’s a
facetious question obviously. Jesus wants us, who are His, to strive for
perfection.
“Be ye therefore perfect,
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
By “perfect” He means that we
need to be mature. Mature in our thinking and in our actions. Our Father is
absolute perfection, and we are to pattern our lives after Him. Children mimic
their parents and usually grow into adulthood eventually thinking and acting as
did their parents.
We are expected to grow up as
Christians and act like adults who have patterned their whole lives after God,
instead of continuing through life as immature beings. Unfortunately, most
Christians today are so immature it’s ridiculous.
1.
How many of us
love God more than anyone or anything in this world?
2.
How many of us
love all people as much as ourselves?
Two simple questions, can anyone
among us say “I do” to either or both? Come now. Be honest.
Let’s take question number
two first and ask ourselves just a few more questions, making it very personal.
· When was the last time I prayed for my “neighbor?” Did
I put “feet” to those prayers?
· When was the last time I told my “neighbor” about
Jesus?
· When was the last time I tried to uplift my “neighbor”
at the expense of my own ego?
Ouch! I get the point. Do
you? I suppose we have a lot to work on don’t we?
Let’s now ask ourselves a few
questions about question number one above, keeping it personal of course.
· When was the last time I actually listened to what God
has to say to me? He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible.
· When was the last time I obeyed His Word?
· When was the last time I talked to God without asking
for something selfish?
· When was the last time I thanked Him for all He has
done for me?
· When was the last time I said to Him, “I want to please
you,” and followed up on it?
· When was the last time we ached inside just to be in
His presence?
I know these questions are
very simplified, but maybe we need to start somewhere. We can start with these,
and let Him lead us on to deeper, more profound, questions as we spend time in
His presence, growing in His will.
None of us will ever reach
the level of perfection (maturity) God requires while we are on earth, but that
doesn’t mean we are not to strive to be like Him. All of us have plenty of room
to grow.
When we were children our
parents would measure our height at a door facing. We’ll never reach the height
of Jesus, but Jesus said, “Follow Me.” We must remember that He is the yardstick
of our life, and He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
We live in an age I think
that is very close to His return, where people, even Christians, think they can
make up their own rules as they go. Apostasy has turned righteous living upon
its head in these last days of the Church age.
That isn’t to say that all
Christians have forgotten Christ’s response to the Pharisee about the greatest
commandment. Nor is it to say that none strive to live as Jesus instructed in
His response. Unfortunately though, I strongly believe that Christians who
earnestly strive to please the Lord in relation to these two commandments are
becoming fewer and fewer.
Many today call themselves
Christians, but show no signs of their even being interested in pursuing these
two commandments. I hope they are Christians, and are just immature because of
their lack of spiritual growth. The scary part is the knowledge that even
though some may be immature Christians, others are just playing church and do
not know Jesus at all.
If there is one thing as
Christians we all need to remember it is this; it’s all about Jesus Christ. He
is to be glorified, not us. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, not us.
He wants us to really know Him, and He has left us three means to do so; His
Word (the Bible), prayer, and life’s experiences.
The more we know Him, the
more we love Him, and the more we love our neighbor.
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
