Part 1 of a 5 part series - John Marx
Most people, Christians and non-Christians alike, are familiar with the Ten Commandments. But in over 40 years of ministry, I’ve heard little emphasis given to the Scripture that is given to the church for today: The fact that through Jesus Christ, we have a new commandment.
In John 13:34, Jesus says, “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.” (NIV)
In Matthew 22:36-40, (a lawyer asked Jesus) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And 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. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (NIV)
In Romans 13:9-10, the Apostle Paul says, “The commandments … are summed up in this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” (NIV)
Reflection on the new commandment:
NOTE: I don’t want you to confuse showing our love for God, and God showing His love for us. In the Law, in the Old Testament, many of the laws were created by man using his ideas to bring himself into right standing with God. This is impossible. We cannot put ourselves in right standing with God. Only by His love for us, demonstrated by His sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, to be atonement for our sins, our willingness to realize that we are all sinners who need a Savior, and our willingness to accept Christ as God’s Son and His sacrifice for us, can we come into relationship with God. I will be talking more about this in future blogs.
I reflect on how God expects us to show our love for Him and for our neighbor. One of the best examples we have of us showing our love for God, by loving our neighbor, is the story of the Good Samaritan.
Luke 10:25-37: “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?’ And he (the lawyer) answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ And He said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.’
But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied and said, ‘A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ ‘Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?’ And he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.” (NIV)
Sometimes we can put ourselves in the position of the man who was beaten and robbed. When we are the most hurting, God can use the most unlikely person to touch us with His love. The Good Samaritan story shows how God can reach into our lives and provide for our every need. Ex. Food, housing, drink, comfort, and provision for the future were all provided. Although the religious, who can represent all those you think will help you in your time of need (family, friends, authority figures), all stepped around him, God used a person who came from a group considered, at that time, to be the least of people, the Samaritan, to help the man who had been robbed.
He can do that in each of our lives too. He just needs people who are willing to do what the Samaritan did – reach out to someone in need. If you don’t already practice this kind of love for your neighbor (this includes family, friends, and co-workers), will you ask God to help you become that person who can reach out to others with care and compassion?
Scripture tells us to encourage each other. I will continue to share more of what I have learned through the years, in the hope that it will be a help to my friends. I always encourage communication and would welcome the reader to share his/her thoughts on this blog.
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