Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Simplicity 5

Interesting...again, not complicated, but if you think about it for longer than a nanosecond, not always an easy path to follow honestly and wholly...

The Pharisees asked him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40

Think these concepts are strictly a New Testament phenomenon? Nope--Christ was merely quoting what He'd already had to say on the subject several hundred years previously (How's that for a temporal paradox?--that one was for my SciFi friends--but seriously, wrap your head around that idea--'cause it's true!). Don't believe me? Check out Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18--

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."

So there you go--the 10 commandments, God's way, all condensed into a couple of short lines: follow God's example, get to know Him and what He's about, and out of that transforming knowledge and presence will come the second part--the sometimes harder part: the loving of our fellow fallible--and sometimes annoying--neighbors as we love ourselves (who, incidentally, are their fallible and sometimes annoying neighbors).

You've been prayed for today...neighbor.

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