Despite the extent of scriptural knowledge, some of us Christians, including me, may not always align our hearts with scripture’s true message. The depth of a mature Christian’s faith is better revealed through their interactions with others than through their scriptural knowledge.
- Jesus never told us to primarily focus our love on our church affiliations.
- He never told us to do the same with our knowledge of doctrines, creeds, church history, and structure.
- He didn’t even tell us to primarily focus our love and focus on our scriptures.
Although the above are essential aspects of our Christian faith, the following is paramount and must be our primary focus to fully understand the scripture’s true meaning.
Matthew 22:37–40 (NLT)
37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Followed only by our love for God, He told us to love our neighbors!
I’ve found no exception to that simple commandment in all my personal studies.
Jesus made no exceptions to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or immigration status. The last two can easily rise in priority above their place in the grand Kingdom plan of God, especially at the time of this writing, January 2025.
I remember a quote, which I can only paraphrase now, that goes something like, “The only line I draw now is this: if my religion gets between me and my neighbor, I choose my neighbor.”
Remarkably, the Bible contains no instance of Jesus requesting worship. He simply asks that we follow him and show the same love he showed.
So…
- Love the outcast.
- Welcome the stranger.
- Feed the hungry.
- Be a conduit of healing to the sick.
- Help show the oppressed the path to true freedom.
As the old hymn so beautifully says, they we know we are Christians by our love.
We have to get back to that!
Ruminate on this in your mind and heart for a bit. Afterwards, I welcome your thoughts.