April 18, 2013
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 22:34-40
OBSERVATIONS
More testing for Jesus. This was a multiple choice question, the Jews figured there were 613 commandments in the Law of Moses. How do you reduce that many commands down to one?
But Jesus knows the heart of the Law, for He knows the heart of God. He knows that we were made to love God and love people. Every command in the bible somehow points to that (some commands are harder to figure out than others).
The heart is the deepest part of me, where the direction of my lifer is set. The soul is either my inner spirit, or the whole of me (body and spirit together). The mind is the thinking part of me. Jesus is not suggesting a formula for human nature, these are just aspects of me that make up me. Jesus is saying all of me, every part, every dimension, every aspect.
As yourself… Is this a reminder that we also need to love ourselves, or is it assuming that we naturally do, and that we ought to live others with the same intensity?
St. Augustine once said, Love Good with all your heart, and do whatever you want. Meaning, if you love God like this, you will love people, you will not want to hurt them, you will want to obey Him in every way.
What do you notice in this passage?
APPLICATION
Jesus’ could have said, love God as you do yourself. We naturally put ourselves first, look out for #1. To be God-centered rather than self-centered, to be God-seeking rather than self-seeking.
How do you love a God you cannot see or hear?
To love is more than feeling something for God, it is prioritizing God, obeying, seeking, serving, honoring, praising this great and glorious Being.
It starts in the heart.
I will give my people hearts that are completely committed to me. I will give them a new spirit that is faithful to me. I will remove their stubborn hearts from them. And I will give them hearts that obey me. Then they will follow my rules. They will be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people. And I will be their God. ( Ezekiel 11:19-20)
I cannot make myself love God and people, I need help. I need spiritual heart surgery, a spiritual heart transplant.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
”Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” Please give me this new heart and new spirit. Remove my stubborn heart.