Day 32 - More About The Jesus Creed

More About The Jesus Creed

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “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.”
Matthew 22:34-40

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Love your neighbor as yourself.
Leviticus 19:18(b)

One of the first things we notice when we read these verses is the question presented at the outset by the Pharisees: “Which is the greatest commandment?” Putting aside what we know about the way the religious leaders of Jesus’ time tried to trip him up over and over, notice what was actually being asked. The man—an expert in the law—asked a question concerning spiritual formation—in fact, this question addressed the very spiritual center of their faith.

What Jesus told the Pharisees hit them in a very personal way. As normal Jews (and certainly as religious leaders), their spiritual formation began with loving God with all their heart, soul, and strength. But in these verses, Jesus revises that command in these ways: loving others is added to loving God, and loving God is understood as following Jesus. It hits us in a very personal way, as well. Minister and author Rick Warren puts it like this: “Life minus love equals zero...The best use of life is love. The expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.”

Scot McKnight has used the phrase “Jesus Creed” to identify what Jesus told us to do for spiritual formation. The Jesus Creed is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love First. It is what defines us.

Your Mission
In a global world, neighbor can mean a lot of things, but pray for the neighbors that live close to you and try to call them by name.