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I John 5: 3 His commands are not
burdensome. (NIV)
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His laws are not unreasonable; the duties which he requires are not beyond our ability; his government is not oppressive.* |
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When
the Pharisees asked Jesus what was the greatest
commandment, they were hoping to trick him into saying something they could use
against him. He answered their trick question with a “trick answer” – he named
the two greatest commandments: Love
God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22: 37-39). And then he added, “All the Law
and Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22: 40)
So
whatever else Jesus may have commanded us; whatever Paul and James and Peter
were inspired to write; and of all the laws of the Old Testament era – would we
need any of those words if we knew what “love God and love your neighbor”
looked like? And yet, Jesus has shown us clearly what it looks like: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ
laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
(I John 3: 16)
There
is no doubt that trying to keep the commandments in the law was burdensome - lots
of stuff to remember and do; but Jesus came and simplified the rules. As a
single mother, caring for my twin toddler boys was – shall we say, challenging?
– but never burdensome. Loving God should be even less so. Look how he loved us!
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If you maintain these two top priorities – love God and love others – they will guide you in setting all the other priorities in your life.* |
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