The Great Commandment (part one)

June 14, 2009

I got married a week ago to the love of my life, and thus I’ve been thinking a lot about love lately. In fact, I’ve only recently come to understand that loving each other is the most important thing we can do in life, second only to loving God. The idea seems simple, but the more I think about it, the more I realize how big that concept is.

Just imagine if the Great Commandment was your life’s mission statement, and you evaluated everything you did, all your major life-decisions, on these verses:

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.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

How would you live? If you knew that the most important things you could do today were loving God and loving your neighbor, what would you do? It’s deeper than it seems, right? I really like how the senior pastor at my church paraphrases that commandment, “Love God, and love like God.” Maybe you already do this. I know I fall short. But I want to put that commandment at the center of my life.

One of my favorite songs from last year is by Jazzanova, with Phonte on vocals, and it’s called, “Look What You’re Doin’ to Me.” Towards the end of the song, Phonte sings:

There is love for all God’s children
We all breathe in the same sun
We all sleep under the stars at night
We know that we are one
And you’re the one for me

Maybe Phonte’s interpretation of the Great Commandment is, “love God, and love God’s children.” And maybe he’s saying in the last line, “I’m going to display this love most in how I love you (my wife).” I like that.

The Great Commandment seems simple, but I think it’s really huge. And I’m no theologian, but I think that placing these verses at the centers of our lives would be life-changing. Are you already doing this? If so, I’d really like to hear from you…