Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV)
“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.”
This really hit me today. If I truly love God with all my heart, mind and soul, then I would have to love myself and others because we are his creations. In the ‘80”s there was a quaint little saying going around… “I’m okay, ‘cause God doesn’t make junk!” If I truly believe God is the Creator of the Universe, then I must truly believe that God created each one of us. In Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.” (NLT) Whether we believe the story of Adam and Eve and the apple or think of it as an allegory is not an issue. What is the issue is that God told us that He made humans in His image.
God told us to LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR. Jesus explained to us who we should consider our neighbor in Luke 10:29-37, the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Remembering that in the time of Jesus the Samaritans were considered lower than dirt, who should I consider my neighbor today? Could it be the sandpaper people I come in contact with during the course of my life? How about the faceless people known collectively as Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, etc? Or is it just the people with faces plastered across the worldwide web and other media sources? Who would I cross the street to avoid, those are the people that God calls me to love.
Our media is very good at building up our fear quotient these days. What would happen if we each decided to live by the “Great Commandment?” WHAT IF we followed Christ’s example and reached out to those who persecute us, in love rather than fear and hate?
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