It is not easy to sum up all the commandments that govern life in one or two sentences, but Jesus did it. It is amazing! Think about it. If you get these commands right, you’ll get the rest right.
Jesus says (in Matthew’s version), “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt 22:40)
Picture with me this scene and you’ll understand:
• The nation of Israel was given the Ten Commandments - unfortunately, over the years, many rules were added (according to Jewish tradition, God gave the Jewish people 613 nutzvot (commandments).
• Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets – according to Jewish tradition, the purpose for having two tablets was to divide the Ten Commandments under two rubrics. The first tablet, we are told, contained the so-called religious commandments, describing obligations owed to God. The second tablet contained ethical or moral commandments, describing obligations we owe to one another as creatures of God and as fellow human beings."
• As Moses held on to these two tablets – in a similar way we are told to hold on to these two tablets tightly – love for God, and love for people.
If you love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, then you would be able to keep the first four commandments – (1) you shall have no other gods before me; (2) you shall not make for yourself an idol, no graven image of any kind; (3) you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God; and (4) remember the Sabbath day and keeping it holy – you’ll remember the Lord’s Day and honour your appointment with Him.
If you love your neighbours as yourselves, then you would have kept the next six commandments – (1) honour your father and mother (the first human relationship that you established); (2) you shall not murder; (3) you shall not commit adultery; (4) you shall not steal; (5) you shall not give false testimony against your neighbour; and (6) you shall not covet your neighbour’s stuff.
If you can truly keep these dual commandments, you would probably be able to keep the rest.
And the sequence is important – there is a first and second. Jesus mentioned a second – this is important. It flows from the first. It is called second because it can only be truly possible when we have the first. When we love God with all our heart, we will be able to love people. Even people hard to love, people we can’t love. We become channel of His love!
The Bible says so: “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts (KIV) - God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (Rom 5:5)
What do you think happens when someone tries to love others without loving God?
All that they have would be human love – as best as it can be, it is limited, uncertain, imperfect, subjected to change… That’s all you’ve got!
What about the other way around – do you think it’s possible to love God without love our neighbours?
It’s paradoxical, right? Because if you truly love God and know Him, you’ll find yourself loving the things He loves. It will change you!
If you really love God in the way Jesus described, you will love your neighbour. Who is our neighbour? In Jesus’ definition, giving in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) it means anyone who crosses our path. In fact, it is everyone who crosses our path.
Why do you think God brings some people into your life? Why do you think you cross path with some people and not others? God wants us to touch their lives with His love.
* * * * * *
Jesus says, “The most important one - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:29-30)
God doesn’t want a part of your life. He asks for all your heart, all your soul, your entire mind, and all your strength. God is not interested in half-hearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of your time and money. He desires your full devotion, not little bits of your life.
A Samaritan woman once tried to debate Jesus on the best time, place, and style for worship. Jesus replied that these external issues are irrelevant; what matters is your heart. Where you worship is not as important as why you worship and how much of yourself you offer to God when you worship.
Jesus says this is the most important commandment – in order words, (1) to love God is the first purpose of your life. You are created and commanded to love Him. It is our greatest responsibility and our highest privilege. It should have take priority over everything else. It is not a part of your life; it is your life, and every activity can be transformed into an act of love for the praise, glory, and pleasure of God.
When Jesus says, love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength – it means (2) loving God requires effort and energy. It’s not always convenient or comfortable, and sometimes it is a sheer act of the will — a willing sacrifice. We just decide to do so. We just decide to put Him first.
If that is the case, then I ought to be concerned about my LQ – Love Quotient. We talk about IQ and EQ, and now SQ (spiritual – ability to handle crisis, rapid change). How’s the condition of my heart towards God? Have I grown cold over the years? Am I still passionately in love with Him today?
HOW TO KEEP FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM?
Brother Lawrence, a humble cook in a French monastery in the 17th century, wrote in The Practice of the Presence of God, shared some helpful ideas. Cultivate an awareness of His presence and start talking to Him all the time.
He says pray shorter conversational prayers continually throughout the day, rather than trying to pray long sessions of complex prayers. To maintain focus, and counteract wandering thoughts, he said, "I do not advise you to use a great multiplicity of words in prayer, since long discourses are often the occasions for wandering."
In an age when our attention span is getting shorter, this 450-year-old suggestion is particularly relevant.
Use "Breath Prayers" throughout their day - a brief sentence or a simple phrase: "You are with me." "I receive your grace." "I’m depending on you." "I want to know you." "I belong to you." "Help me trust you."
You can also use a short phrase of Scripture: "For me to live is Christ." "You will never leave me." "You are my God." Pray it as often as possible so it is rooted deeply into your heart. Just be sure that your motive is to honour God, not control Him.
The fastest way to reconnect with God throughout your day is to pause and be silent for a few second. Stop what you are doing, and listen in silence for the voice of God.
Just as musicians practice scales everyday in order to play beautiful music with ease, you must force yourself to think about God at different times in your day. An accomplish musician will tell you they play their music with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. You must train your mind to remember God and think about His goodness. Think about His benefits. Appreciate Him more.
Another booklet - Frank Laubach’s booklet, The Game With Minutes. Laubach, founder of the World Literacy Movement, began to play a game with himself to see how often in a day he could remember that God was with him. He set a goal of thinking about God’s presence at least once every half hour and developed reminders to help him do so. He then progressed to thinking about God once every 15 minutes. Eventually, his awareness of God became so ingrained that he talked with God constantly about every person he saw and every circumstance he experienced.
Benedictine monks use the hourly chimes of a clock to remind them to pause and pray "the hour prayer." If you have a watch or cell phone with an alarm you could do the same. If Muslims pause to kneel and pray 5 times a day, why can’t we?
Like all relationships, a friendship with God takes time. You don’t build it overnight. But you need to begin somewhere.
WHERE DID THE PHARISEES AND TEACHERS OF THE LAW GO WRONG?
1. Religious activities cannot take the place of a heart of love for God
2. True obedience can only come from a heart of love for God
Look at the church in Ephesus, in Rev 2:2-6. The angel said to them: “2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
The church may be large and powerful. They may be doctrinally pure and hardworking. But when they lose their first love, nothing else really matters. Without a love for God, all that we do become meaningless. Are we toiling for ourselves? Are we seeking our own glory? Striving for great achievements to prove how good we are?
• Religious activities cannot take the place of a heart of love for God
The Pharisees and teachers of the Law were very preoccupied by their obedience to Law and many of them would have scored A* for that. Yet Jesus had this to say about them (cf. Matt 15:7-9): “You hypocrites! ...you honour me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me. You worship me in vain…” No praise even for their strict obedience to the Law.
It’s not just a matter of saying the right words; you must mean what you say. Heartless praise is not praise at all! It is worthless, and an insult to God.
When we worship, God looks past our words to see the attitude of our hearts. We can worship God imperfectly, but we cannot worship Him insincerely.
• True obedience can only come from a heart of love for God
Set the heart right and the rest will be right. Right action does not guarantee it comes from a right heart. Jesus says, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad…” (Matt 12:33).
Express your love to God in your own way, but be genuine and let it comes from the heart:
In his book, Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas identified nine of the ways people draw near to God:
• Naturalists are most inspired to love God out-of-doors, in natural settings;
• Sensate love God with their senses, and appreciate beautiful worship services that involve their sight, taste, smell, and touch, not just their ears.
• Traditionalists draw closer to God through rituals, liturgies, symbols, and unchanging structure;
• Ascetics prefer to love God in solitude and simplicity;
• Activists love God through confronting evil, battling injustice and working to make the world a better place;
• Caregivers love God by loving others and meeting needs;
• Enthusiasts love God through celebration;
• Contemplatives love God through adoration;
• Intellectuals love God by studying with their minds.
CONCLUSION
The scribe commented that he understood this great commandment and that keeping this commandment was more important than all the burnt offerings which could ever be offered. This was a tremendous insight. It indicated this scribe had given it some thought. He had come to understand what all the other religious leaders Jesus had failed to see. He understood that the sacrificial system of burnt offerings was a pale substitute for true, passionate love for God.
He had comprehended this intellectually. Jesus makes an interesting reply to the scribe. Commenting on the scribe’s insight, Jesus says, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." (v.34). The scribe was not far, but not IN the Kingdom yet.
This serves as a warning for us. It’s not enough merely to intellectually believe in the truth of God’s Word. We must be willing to act on it, to commit ourselves to follow it. The scribe had given mental assent to the facts of God’s word, yet he had never given himself to God.
We may have accumulated lots of religious knowledge over the years, but if we’re not going to act on it, nothing will change. You life will be the same one year from now. It is not because the Word of God is powerless. It is because we don’t have a heart to love Him and do what He says.
Watch your heart!
