Read Time: 11 minutes
If you are anything like me, you like to ponder life. Not in the purely philosophical sense, but in the strategic and intentional thinking way. And I know those terms get tossed around a lot, so what I’m referring to is the specific carving out of time to think through the Rolodex of priorities, make a list, perhaps some concrete life goals, etc. Sitting down, pen to paper or text to screen, and really getting into the details.
I’m sure most of you have done something like the exercise described above. But have you ever stopped to really think about what scripture says about the most important things in life?
Although the following is one of the most impactful scenes in the Bible, they seem to be some of the lesser quoted sections from the B’rit Hadashah (or New Testament). The account is given by two gospel writers (two witnesses), and here’s how it goes:
“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”” (Mark 12:28-31, ESV)
““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”” (Matthew 22:36-40, ESV)
Wow…did you get all that? Now, remember that the scribes spent nearly all their time working with the Torah and the scriptures. They were the PhDs, ThDs, and academics of our day. So research was a pretty big deal.
Plus, there’s a common, albeit funny stereotype amongst Jews – 10 Jews, 50 opinions. So I’m sure this is what was happening here. You should be able to picture it, everyone passionately discussing and debating Torah – what a wonderful scene!
But notice the nuances here. He answered them well. They called him Teacher. He spoke with authority!
And as you probably figured out, Jesus or Yeshua was quoting Torah directly – specifically the Shema. You can learn more about the Shema here at OneforIsrael. But for those of you that know the Shema (also see post Seek First the Kingdom of God), you’ll notice that the love your neighbor part is not included in that prayer.
Also, neither are specifically stated in the 10 commandments!!
So how poignant was it to not only summarize the commandments here (in a few sentences), but also to say that all the law/instructions and the prophets depend on BOTH!
“The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.”
Albert Einstein
Of course there is a hierarchy to Gods instruction manual, like all things in life, but I want to you pause and reflect. Both types of love are important. And we will take a quick dive into each below. Enjoy!
“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.””
Luke 10:25-28 NIV
Love #1 – “Love your God”
The Shema clearly states that we are to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our strength. But what exactly does that mean? How do we love our Creator, the all-knowing, all-powerful? How do we love God when He is not with us in bodily form. But that’s the thing, He may not be in the form of man, but He IS everywhere!
And even better, His scripture tells us exactly how we are to love Him. It is a literal encyclopedia of love and instruction manual!
1. OBEDIENCE
It’s actually abundantly clear that obedience is the most important sign of our love for God. And this shouldn’t surprise us. Aren’t our earthly parents living and breathing examples of this. When we obey our parents, or our children obey us as parents, doesn’t it serve as the defining evidence of love?
“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.””
John 14:21 NIV
“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”
John 14:23 NIV
Note: these two verses are basically Jesus repeating himself.
“In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,”
1 John 5:3 NIV
“So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil.”
Deuteronomy 11:13-14 NIV
The other interesting point, as further evidence of this mysterious obedience key to love, is that we are indeed commanded to love God first. So we in essence are loving to obey. How perfect is it that we essence close the loop of love here!
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV
2. PUT HIM FIRST
First things first, well actually point number two, put HIM first! He clearly states in the second commandment to put no other gods before Him.
With this is the command not to make an idols. Idols are not only carved wooden objects that we bow down to. We can turn anything into an idol if we devote our lives to it (i.e. most of our hours and focus).
Think about a device we hold in our hands daily and literally bow our neck to…all I’m saying is be mindful and careful not to too quickly dismiss this section of scripture.
Also, this again hangs from the obedience keychain. For it is also one of the 10 commandments! Read the verse below and note the words surrounding love!
““You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
Deuteronomy 5:7-10 NIV
3. DELIGHT IN HIM AND HIS WORD
This one I really love. Ha, sorry couldn’t help myself.
But to truly love someone, we have to delight in them. And I don’t mean some sort of light enjoyment. I mean truly delight.
I’m talking about the type of delight that makes us giddy. It gets us up in the morning. It’s what we see most in teenagers in love. That type of love where you can’t wait to spend more time together. Each day is a celebration of true matrimony.
“for I delight in your commands because I love them. I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees.”
Psalms 119:47-48 NIV
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:”
Psalms 37:4-5 NIV
BONUS: LOVE OTHERS AS YOURSELF
I know this is already noted in the Love #2 below…but that’s the point. It is another circular reference of Gods love. A mysterious paradox as we are all connected and made in His image.
When we love others, we fulfill His commands. We obey Him, and thus showcase our love. Love of others becomes evidence of our love for our Creator. How awesome is that! Coming full circle…
“Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”
1 John 4:20 NIV
Love #2 – “Love your neighbor as yourself”
Something I heard the other day from a rabbi named Bill Cloud was impactful. He said that perhaps God puts people in our lives who intentionally rub us the wrong way. Not saying this is always true, but when you think about it. What is harder, to love someone you like, or love someone that irritates you?
That’s a rhetorical question.
““If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.”
Luke 6:32 NIV
Sometimes we don’t like to hear the cold hard truth. And this couldn’t be colder or harder.
And the reason we occasionally don’t like to hear the truth, is because it means we need to act (or change). We need to add something to our already exhaustive list of to-dos, frantic thoughts and anxieties.
But what if we used our handy-dandy reframing tool we learned in the last post about godly habits…
Let’s look at these situations as opportunities to be filled with love. I heard a story on another social media post about a question from a monk. I’m paraphrasing, but when someone bumps into you while you are holding a cup of coffee, why did you spill the coffee? The answer seems obvious, but the monk states that it is because you are carrying coffee.
Wait what?!
Point being what we carry around spills out. Jesus carried around nothing but love. Even his whipping of temple merchants’ goods was out of love. The Love #1 discussed above.
If we are filled with love, that is what spills out when someone bumps into us. Take the time to ponder that!
Perhaps we will even spill some of that love on our neighbor.
“But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”
Matthew 5:39 NIV
By now, this probably isn’t the conversation you expected. You probably expected some list of ways to love your neighbor, as described above in the first kind of love. But this isn’t the same exact kind of love. It is easy to love using the same methods others as we do God – WHEN WE LIKE THEM.
This isn’t a self care or ‘put your mask on before helping others’ situation either.
This is a cold, hard truth of loving those that are different than us. In fact, when Yeshua (Jesus) was asked about this, he told the story of the Good Samaritan! That was an even more difficult message to hear!
By reading enough of the posts on this site, you may have realized that we operate in paradoxes a lot. There is a lot to glean from these paradoxes, because they tend to challenge our assumptions or mental models, make us uncomfortable and ultimately think differently. And that intersection of discomfort and learning is where we truly grow spiritually.
So here’s the challenge, love others as they are in the image of God. As discussed above, this is also difficult. But here’s the catch, love those that distract you, love those that disturb you, love those that demotivate you, because that is how you will truly showcase your abundance of love for your Creator, by loving his creations. Along the way, you might just turn some hearts toward Him…
““What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.””
Luke 10:26-37 NIV
The Priorities Punchline
Two facts exists around time management and priorities. One, we all have the same amount of time. And two, we all have PLENTY of time to focus on what matters.
If you don’t agree with the second point, you need to reevaluate your priorities. Because if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.
This is why God continually tells us to put Him first. If and when we do, we will be amazed at what He can and will do for us with the rest of our time.
Knowing this, next time you ponder life, think about how we can prioritize or focus more of our time on these two commandments.
It’s not about the number of days in your life, it’s about the amount of life in your days. Focus on the most important, focus on LOVE, focus on HIM.
Takeaways to make a way…
- All the law and the prophets hang on our Love for God and our neighbor (ask an expert).
- Many of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) sermons are a commentary or summary of the scriptures, Torah (or Old Testament)
- We can glean a lot from commentaries or summaries by experts.
- We can also glean a lot by asking questions!
- Loving God means obeying Him and His Word – first and foremost
- Loving others showcases our love for God and provides a good example (i.e. light) to the world
- We all have the same amount of time each day – use it wisely to focus on the most important elements of life (His Commandments)
Further Study with your Buddy…
For further reading on Obedience and the godly cycle of love, read LOL (Love -> Obedience -> Love
Go back to the beginning and read Love, a Millennial Manifesto
Questions for Reflection…
- How do you show your love for your Creator? Your neighbor?
- In what ways do you need to change or shift your priorities?
- Does your life reflect the importance of these two commandments?
- How do the 10 commandments reflect these two types of love?
- What small changes or acts of love can you do today?
- Who is on your nerves or bothering you and how can you forgive and/or love them?
- Do you have a new view on the meaning of life?
godlyyy 
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