Sitting there by the door of our local church listening to the sermon the other week The Lord turned on another lightbulb somewhere in the dimmer recesses of my mind (Hope He's got a lot of light bulbs :-). It never ceases to amaze me how many times I can read a passage and still miss some of the most important stuff.
Why does it take two laws to sum up everything in the Law of God? Surely if we love God will not EVERYTHING ELSE flow from that one single law to love our God with all our hearts and souls and minds? Why TWO laws? Then came the lightbulb.
We are called to have two loves, not one. If we do not have two loves we have none. It's double or nothing.
How often do we hear, or even say ourselves, " It is because I love Christ that I do this for you." Or perhaps "It is the love of Christ that leads me to do this for you." Or something else similar. But this misses the point of why the Law of God is summed up in two laws, not one. The Law speaks of OUR love. WE are to have two loves. If we do not serve our neighbors out of our OWN love for them we do not do as The Lord has asked.
We cannot love God and also speak evil of, criticise, or gossip about, one another. We cannot love God and also treat each other harshly or unkindly. We cannot love God and yet do nothing for the needs of others. The Good Samaritan could not meet all the needs of the stranger - but he ensured all his needs were met nonetheless' even in his absence. But the parable does not speak of the relationship of the Samaritan with The Lord, that was not the point Jesus was making. The parable says "when he saw him, he (the Samaritan) took pity on him. (Luke 10:33). The important message Jesus was getting across was the relationship the Samaritan himself had with his neighbour as an example of what it means for us to love our neighbour as ourselves.
If you are sitting in church reading this, look around you. These are not your only neighbours ... BUT they are your closest neighbours. Love each and every one of them dearly, love them deeply. It may not always be easy, but it will always be necessary.
John 13:35 "By THIS all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
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"Double or Nothing" may be copied, used and distributed
(In its entirety only including this notice)
"Double or Nothing" may be copied, used and distributed
(In its entirety only including this notice)
by brothers and sisters in Christ
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D.J. Ludlow copyright 2013.
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