I had the complete joy of working with my kindergarten grandson yesterday on reading. He was carefully sounding out new three letter words. The word was pig. He said pu-i-g, pu-i-g. But when he tied them all together, he proudly proclaimed, DOG! It’s just not fully clicking for him yet, but I am sure by the end of the school year, he will be reading.
I wonder if God sometimes thinks the same thing about me. I hear something over and over again, and then one day it finally clicks. That happened to me recently with a couple of very well-known Bible verses.
When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest in the Law, here was His response: Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39).
My recent “light bulb” moment was that these two commands were not two separate things. They are not linear where one step leads to the next in a straight line. We don’t love God and THEN love our neighbor. We love God AS we love our neighbor. The way we live, the way we love others, is an act of worship to God. Or said another way, we are NOT loving God if we are NOT loving our neighbor!
If you look at the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, Jesus is answering the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus, as He often does, follows up with questions. “What is written in the Law? How do you read the Law?” The man then recites the two greatest commandments and then Jesus responds with the story of the Samaritan. (The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches that true neighborly love shows mercy and compassion to anyone in need, regardless of background or difference.) These are the things a man does to demonstrate his love for God. The two commands are connected. Now to be clear, Jesus is not saying do good deeds to inherit eternal life. Paul David Tripp in Everyday Gospel Bible says it well: “Faith is not just an exercise of the mind. It is a commitment of the heart that fundamentally changes the way you live your life.”
We show our love for God in our love for others.
Here is a miniscule example from yesterday. It was a busy day, but I had signed up to take soup to someone for the Willowdale Chapel deacon’s meals ministry. I wanted to grumble about taking the time to go deliver it, but then, I remembered these words. I remembered that as I drove to the drop off, I was worshipping God with my actions. I was loving God with my actions. When we serve others, we serve God. This is what it means to put feet to our faith. We love God AS we love our neighbor. They are not two separate things.
We have been studying the book of James at our Wednesday morning women’s Bible study. James 3:9 says, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.” I found this verse very convicting. There are many verses in James 3 that talk about taming the tongue (an all but impossible task apart from Jesus!) In the past, when I read these verses, I felt that they were advice from James on ways for Jesus’s followers to live. But this time round, I realized how strongly they are connected to the teachings of Jesus in the book of Matthew. These were not one-off teachings from James, they are, in fact, the teachings of Jesus. These are not merely suggestions but mandates on how to live. All of these verses about taming the tongue link back to the Greatest Commandments. As we treat our fellow man, spouse, friend, or coworker with respect, as we love them by speaking words of healing, words of life, we are doing as He commanded us. We are worshipping God with our tongue, with our actions. As we love others, we are loving God.
I can’t write that without thinking of a quote from our last teaching at Bible Study. “Our keyboards and phones are an extension of our tongues.” I am grieved by the way people who claim to be a Christian sometimes talk to people on social media. I am unclear on how ranting for or against political figures or policies shows the love of Christ. I don’t understand how all the negativity, name calling and belittling others reflects Christ’s love for us. It often appears that we are far more interested in being “right” (as in correct) than in being loving. It’s not wrong to have a strong opinion but it is wrong to be unloving in your presentation of it. I am dumbfounded as to how this has become ok, how this lack of civility is considered to be acceptable in any Christian circles.
To love God is to love your neighbor…even in today’s divided political climate.
ABOUT THE BLOGGER:
Bonnie Kotler and her husband Mitch have two daughters, three sons, eleven grandchildren and three grand-puppies. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years before re-entering the workforce after receiving her M.S. in Counseling and Human Relations from Villanova University. She is a licensed professional counselor at her own private practice, True North Counseling. Bonnie has been on the Willowdale women’s ministry teaching team since 2012. Bible studies have played a key role in her walk as a believer, and in turn, she loves to help other women find their peace with God and grow in their faith. She enjoys writing Bible study materials, reading fiction, spending time with family and doing anything in the sunshine. Bonnie loves to laugh and considers laughter as the best medicine. Psalm 126:2