Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.” (Matt 22:37-40)
Two commands. Two pegs. Everything hangs from them. That's all.
Two things have got right up my nose this week:
H and I worked together for twelve years. We talked, laughed, got angry about stuff, dreamed big dreams, acted daft, listened to each other, swore a bit, talked about God now and again, and laughed a lot more.
Five years on, we no longer see each other every day, but we're friends. Definitely. We love each other.
I love God. I love H. She doesn't love God. She loves me. That's all.
I suppose that whoever left that book on an empty park bench thought it was a loving thing to do. I don't agree. I think they'd be better off joining an evening class or a club and making some friends; people they can talk to, listen to, laugh and cry with... and talk about God with now and again too.
I want so much for my friends to know how madly, passionately, fiercely God loves them! He loves them. It's good news.
The scriptures are a huge, sweeping picture of God's intense, redeeming, costly love for his world, painted with a massive brush. Sneaking into a park when no-one is looking to leave scary bible sound-bites for unsuspecting 'heathens' to find really gets my goat.
Love God. Love People. Everything hangs on those two pegs.
I don't really want to talk about the second thing... but it's a bit like the first thing. That's all.
