Out of an attempted entrapment, Jesus gives this sublime teaching regarding what is truly important for the believer. The first great commandment – to love the Lord your God – is called the Shema – it is a prayer recited by Jewish faithful every morning and evening. The second great commandment came from Jesus’ lips – to love our neighbour as ourselves...
Currently in our Western society we have set aside both of these commandments. We don’t love God and we don’t love others.
“All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” Jesus in Matthew 22:40.
Out of an attempted entrapment, Jesus gives this sublime teaching regarding what is truly important for the believer. The first great commandment – to love the Lord your God – is called the Shema – it is a prayer recited by Jewish faithful every morning and evening. The second great commandment came from Jesus’ lips – to love our neighbour as ourselves. I have made a number of trips to Israel, and we have said this expanded Shema regularly. Jesus said that all of the Old Testament has these two values in mind. Very interesting to look at the Old Testament through this lens. This is the accurate lens because Jesus said it is so. The entire Old Testament is intended for us to love God and love others.
Currently in our Western society we have set aside both of these commandments. We don’t love God and we don’t love others.
We continue to move firmly away from responsibility to God – we remove any talk of Him from the table of public decision making. We no longer see inner virtue as a value and as a result pile on more and more laws and regulations to try and curb our most vile appetites. We are making ourselves into little gods instead – the way of the rebel is a hard way.
We no longer love our neighbor – we love ourselves only. It’s all about personal rights and self-interest – we see it everywhere. Hatred abounds – the latest being the anti Semite scourge currently soiling our shores. All of this is a sure formula for cultural rot and fall.
What would it be like if we were to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind?
-We would learn to truly love ourselves. To know that God has created us, we are loved by Him, we are special – a prize to God, made for a purpose. To know that we are not God, but we have qualities that come from God’s character.
-We would be much more secure in our place in the world.
-We would learn about love from God’s example toward us.
-We would be much more humble.
-If God and we have a relationship of love, we can go through anything that comes our way!
What would it be like if we were to love our neighbor as ourselves?
-We would try to put ourselves in their shoes in order to understand.
-We would try to uphold the dignity of that person in light of what their Creator thinks of them.
-We would be more patient and learn to extend forgiveness.
Our example, as ever, is the Lord Jesus who practiced these two greatest commandments flawlessly through his earthly life. He balanced love for God and love for others in the good times and the terrible times. Somehow these two commandments worked in the course of real life.
What part of the Shema requires your attention today? Love for God with all your heart, soul and mind? Love for your neighbour as you love yourself? Act on what the Spirit has to say to you – take any practical steps that He points out to you. Let’s not just say the Shema but actually live it out!
Pastor Leon Throness
