Matthew 22.37-39 - Two Little Words

Matthew 22.37-39 - Two Little Words

Perhaps as you hear the familiar two commands Jesus gave to summarize God’s law – love God and neighbor – you nod your head with a sense of confidence. I do. Check! Been there, done that! Safe! If that is what lets me squeak into Heaven, I’m in. But there are MANY things wrong with this thinking. Biggest error is the common notion, that even we Christians slip into, thinking we can earn favor with God. Not gonna happen. We’re too messy and messed up to earn heavenly reward points. Also, we miss the two little words, “all” and “as.” Do we truly love God with our “all?” – undivided, uncompromising, laser-focused devotion, untainted by self or sin? Do we really care for neighbor – using Jesus’ broad definition of the group – with the same absorbing self-infatuation as we pamper ourselves? Yikes! Jesus double command spells our doom! Double deserving death.