The Greatest Commandments

Hello Friends,

How are you doing? Are you enjoying the Summer? Have you done anything exciting or anything that you are going to remember for a very long time? I know that Summer is well on its way, and I definitely know you don’t want to hear this, but school is just around the corner.

Summer vacation is half over. Christmas is less than six months away. School supply lists are being put together and on the verge of being distributed. Teachers are beginning to make lesson plans. Students, like yourselves, are dreading the day when their alarm clock goes off before 8:00AM and they put on their backpack and head out the door. The first day of school is just around the corner.

With this realization, I was thinking about the other day of when I walked through the halls of a nearby elementary school. One day last week I walked through the school and every classroom I walked into had a list of rules on the wall. Even though there were some slight differences, most of them said pretty much the same thing. They said things like:

If you were to ask me which classroom rule is most important, I know what I would say. I would say that the most important rule is to respect and obey your teacher and the second is very much like it–be kind and show respect for your fellow students. If we would just follow those two rules, there really wouldn’t be a need for any more.

I rule very similar to this is known as the “Golden Rule” (something I learned many years ago). The “Golden Rule” encourages us, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Simply put, it means you should treat others as you’d like to be treated. Jesus teaches us something very similar to these rules when he was helping his disciples become more faithful and understanding.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day liked to sit around and discuss the law. They especially liked to ask Jesus questions about the law to try to trick him into saying something that would cause people to turn against him. (For example, read what Jesus says about casting the first stone in John 8:7-11.) One day they were questioning Jesus and he answered them with one good answer right after another. One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Most of you know the Ten Commandments, don’t you? Okay, maybe not all of them, but maybe a few of them. Let me remind you of what they are: thou shall not have any other gods before God, thou shall not worship any idols, thou shall not misuse the name of the Lord, thou shall observe a day of rest, thou shall honor our parents, thou shall not murder, thou shall not do wrong against whom we love, thou shall not take what is not ours, thou shall not lie against our neighbors, and thou shall not desire what our neighbors have (Exodus 20:1-17).

So, how would you answer the question that was proposed to Jesus? This is how Jesus answered.  He said, “The most important commandment is this: ‘The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31). After hearing Jesus’ answer, no one else dared to ask him any more questions!

What a wise answer. If we could just keep those two commandments, love God and love our neighbor, we wouldn’t have any trouble keeping the rest of them, would we? This year, as you walk through the hallways, remember Jesus’ answer and do your best to live out his answer in all that you do.

Let us pray: Dear Father, help us to love you with all our heart, soul, and strength–and to love one another as we love ourselves. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!