Introduction
A professor of theological ethics opened his class for the semester by reading a letter from a parent to a government official.
The parent complained that his son, who had received a good education, gone to all the right schools, and was headed for a good job as a lawyer, had gotten involved with a weird religious sect. The father continued that the members of this sect controlled his every move, told him whom to date and whom not to date (relationships), and had taken all of his money (sharing). The parent pleaded with the government official to do something about this strange religious group.
Then the professor asked the students, "Who is this letter describing?"
There was quite a debate, with the class discussing some off the wall group cults, like the Branch Dividend’s, or those who were going to join the spaceship at the tail of Haley’s Comet. After about 15 minutes of discussion, the Professor revealed that the letter was from a third century Roman parent, concerned about a group of people called.... Christians.
It doesn’t sound so weird now does it?
The greatest Command of loving God with everything you’ve got means that we’ve got to be willing to follow our freely chosen master to whom we give total and complete allegiance, attention, and adoration. When the command to love God this way was first given, it was surrounded by a context that demanded obedience. (Jeremy Houck, “Love Means Obediance”, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=83630&libronix=1)
Christianity was groundbreaking back then. Where other religions were based on compliance with a set of directives, Christianity was different.
In our Gospel message this evening, we see another example where the Pharisees were trying to catch Jesus in an uncomfortable situation. They had 613 directives to clarify and comply with the Ten Commandments. They instituted these additional rules which ended up making life more complex, rather than the more simple guidelines that God had already established. They wanted a checklist to salvation; fill in the blanks, earn your trip to paradise. Instead, Jesus had a different answer. It all had to do with relationships, and sharing a part of ourselves.
Created for Relationships
Looking back to the beginning, in Genesis 1 and 2, God created the Universe and everything in it. Along with the material cosmos, God created man in the image of God. He created Adam, a creature capable of having a relationship with Him. But, in Genesis 3, man fell away from God and put a divider between the created and the creator. Since the fall, our Heavenly Father’s been working to restore that relationship and bring us back to Him.
The Ten Commandments were written to mend that broken relationship, and restore us to righteousness. Jesus’ two greatest commands weren’t changes to the God given Decalogue. Instead, it was the use of different language to explain and reiterate what was already there. It was a simple way to understand the past directives.
The two commands cannot be separated. They both speak about relationships. Just like the first part of the Ten Commandments speak about our relationship with God, and the later part about our relationship with those around us, the same is true with these two commandments.
Our Relationship with God
First, Jesus talks about our relationship with God. He created all of mankind. He created a thinking being who had his own ideas and his own feelings. He created a being who He could establish a relationship with, rather than a robot who would obey without question. He created man with the freedom to choose and the freedom to act.
But, God saw that it wasn’t good for man to be alone, so He created woman as well. He created Eve for Adam to have a relationship with. The first couple were in a unique position we don’t have today. They were able to walk through the Garden of Eden and enjoy face time with God Himself. But, He also gave them the opportunity to have children and grow relationships similar to the one He created.
God created mankind with the idea that as His children we could grow and develop. Just like our own children have their own personalities, their own likes and dislikes, they also create relationships. All of mankind has these same feelings and relationships with God as well as those around them.
God wants a relationship. Not a passing acquaintance, but the full dedication of our heart, our soul and our body. He wants us to share ourselves as He’s shared Himself with us. As humans, we often do things for our parents and family to make them happy. We may do things to make them proud of our actions and to receive their approval. Our children often do the same things with us. They do things that make us smile. They dance, sing and give us unexpected hugs. Why? Because they want our approval. They want to share part of themselves with us.
That’s what God wants from us. He wants us to make Him proud. He wants to watch us dance and sing and He wants those unexpected hugs. He wants us to take these actions of our own accord. He expects us to come to Him because of the love he shares with us. He expects us to build the bond between us by sharing our own love with Him.
Jesus was the prime example of that love. He wants us to come to Him. But, the simple direction that Jesus gave us is far simpler to describe in words than in practice.
Our Relationship with Ourselves
It’s easier to understand this direction if we look at our own relationship with ourselves. Unless you know how to love yourself, you’ll never know how to love God or love others. We have to balance the truth that we know about ourselves with the understanding of how we should be. We’re all created in the image of God. But, we’ve tarnished that image, and become disobedient to God’s will. We need to be prepared for what we see when we look in a mirror.
Sometimes, we’ll only see the good, and relish in the fact that we are so much better than others. We might place ourselves above those we see around us. We might be arrogant in thinking that at least I’m not as bad as that person over there. We can see numerous examples in the Bible of people comparing themselves to the unreligious, the tax collectors and even their own brothers and sisters. We’re no better and no worse than those around us. We’re all sinners.
But it’s also true that sometimes when we compare ourselves to the world around us, we don’t like what we see. We’re disobedience sinners. But, even in our depraved nature, God continues to love us. He knows what we’ve done. He’s seen us go against His commands. He’s seen us lie, cheat and steal. With God, there are no secrets. But, we’re His children and He continues to love us even when we go off the deep end, completely contrary to His will.
God created everyone; God loves everyone. We don’t have the right to be arrogant because we’re not better than anyone else. But, we also don’t have the right to place ourselves below anyone else, because we’re all in this together. We’re all disobedient to God’s direction.
Our Relationship with Others
Putting all of us on an even playing field is helpful in creating the relationships between us and our fellow men. Relationships are not confined to those we share with God. They extend to those around us. But, some relationships are easier to build and maintain than others.
It’s pretty easy to love those who love you. After all, they often return the same feelings that you share with them. We can probably all relate with loving our spouse, our kids and our parents. We can probably all relate with caring for and sharing ourselves with our friends and extended family. Family and friends are easy to love.
But, what about loving others around us? How well do you show concern for the welfare of others and reach out with a hand of assistance when someone needs it most? What about loving your subordinates, your co-workers or your boss? What about loving your next door neighbor that just moved in, or the stranger down the street? What about loving the cranky guy that lives on the corner, the boss that’s difficult to get along with or the subordinate that just won’t do what they’ve been told to get done. Those folks are a bit harder to love aren’t they? But, it’s all of these people, as well as our family and friends, that we’re told to love. We respond to God’s love for us by caring for and sharing with others around us.
Now, I’m no different than anyone else. I find it difficult to get along with some people. But, one way that I find it easier to tackle the issue is to think of them as if they were Jesus. What would you say to Him today? How much of your time would you be willing to give Him? What favor would you be willing to do to help Him out? Jesus makes it clear that this is what is expected of us. When the judgment finally comes, He says in Matthew 25:
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ (Matthew 25:35-36, ESV)
It’s clear that these are the things that Jesus expects of us. It’s clear that He expects us to treat those around us as if they were Jesus Himself.
Conclusion
The order that Jesus described these relationships in, is the order that we should have them in our life. God first, others second and ourselves last. That’s the way that we establish and maintain our relationships.
In the old Soviet Union there were very few laws about factories polluting the water. That was with good reason, because one of the few laws they did have was that any factory which dumped chemicals back into the river had to do so upstream from its own intake pipes. In other words, whatever the factory dumped in the water was going to come right back into it before it went any further down stream. It was amazing how much this simple rule did to cause factories to clean up their own pollutants.
What would happen if we knew that everything we put out would come back to us? We often say, “What goes around, comes around,” but what if it was a rule, not just a saying? What if we knew that every harmful word or deed would be rebounded upon us immediately? Wouldn’t that change the way we act? (David Owens, “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself (Part 2)”, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=64140&libronix=1)
Caring attitudes, caring actions, sharing a part of our life, that’s what it’s all about. It’s giving up a part of ourselves so that we can benefit others and dropping the selfish concerns of our sinful past. It’s showing God’s love for us through our actions and our attitudes. It’s returning a part of His love for us back to society. It’s showing His love though our life.
