The Bible can seem overwhelming to new believers or perhaps even to those who have been following Christ for awhile. There is so much rich history and instruction that should lead and guide our lives. Sometimes it is refreshing to see where Yeshua has pulled together cliff notes or executive summaries for us start our journey or stay focused along the way.
Matthew 22:34-40
34But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Yeshua wants us to fully read, study, digest the entirety of His word, but He does give us wonderful ways to get started. I think of them like entrance ramps to an interstate.
However, we must take caution as well. Who defines the right way to love our God and our neighbors? It is not for us to define. Many go astray in that they allow culture, or men, or themselves to define how to love one another and love God. This is not correct. Yahweh has already defined how to live out these two commandments. That is what the rest of the Law and the prophets are about. Yeshua did not point to the New Testament. It did not yet exist. He pointed to the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and the writings of the prophets. These in their entirety are based on loving God and loving one another. They are not arbitrary rules God created.
So, if we want cliff notes style reminder of how to live, think about loving God and loving our neighbor. If we want to understand how to do that, then we dive into and study the Torah and the prophets. This is still true today. It has not changed. In fact, Yeshua often pointed back to and reference these in His teaching during His earthly ministry.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, please help me to focus on loving You and loving others. Help me not dwell on love of self. Please also make me hungry to study your Torah and the prophets as Yeshua Himself tells us that these are based on not arbitrary rules or history but rather based on how we are to properly love you and love others. Help us to have wisdom and discernment to know truth from falsehood, even when the falsehood is commonly accepted in our culture. Give us courage to stand up and make changes to live according to the truth of your word even if that puts us separate and apart from others around us in some way. Help us remember that is the point, that we are to be a holy people, a set apart people, so that we can be a light that draws them closer to You. Amen.
Shalom
Devotion by John in service to Christ
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