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Ten into one

th-5

“Love the Lord your God…”  Deuteronomy 6:1, 6:5, 7:9, 7:12, 10:12, 11:1, 11:13, 11:22, 13:3, 19:9, 23:5, 30:6, 30:16, 30:20

Fourteen times in the book of Deuteronomy we are commanded to love God. It must be important.

We are so used to “Thou shalt,” and “Thou shalt not,” when it comes to following the Lord, as if the commandments of the Lord were burdensome. Being religious is such a drag. I can’t even repeat the Ten Commandments much less follow them. No wonder people don’t want to become Christians because God is the big killjoy in the sky.

It sounds like a commandment. It starts out in the King James version with “Thou shalt …” Wow, that sounds like a drag already.  Jesus says it’s a commandment, but commandments aren’t supposed to be any fun. Just the mere sound of the word conjures up images of a commander in the military barking orders to us nose to nose, screaming red-faced at us to get us to straighten up and fly right.

Okay you guys, brace yourselves, here. You want to know what you have to do to please God? Want to know how to get it right every time? Forget the Ten Commandments. Take all ten of them and combine them into one and this is what you get. This is ten times as potent as the Ten Commandments. Jesus has loaded all ten into this one, so better listen up. Do this and you are doing them all.  Ready? Here it is … LOVE GOD AND LOVE EACH OTHER.

That’s it?

Okay let’s get this straight. We are commanded to love our Creator — the one who made us and loved us first by removing the barrier between us and Him, which would be our sin. Done. And our big task is to love that God back? Duh. What else can you do when you understand this? And then we’re supposed to love everyone else, because He died for them too? How hard is that when you realize you are a worse scoundrel than all of them? And if God loves them just like He loves me, what else can I do?

Any question what you’re going to do today?

4 responses to “Ten into one”

  1. Mark D Seguin

    Great read & question! My answer love God and others!

    Reply
  2. Andrew P

    Sure, easy as pie. Except, not so much. What, no detail commands? Then how will I know that I’ve done enough, and can turn inward and take care of ME? Surely there’s a list to handle, then I can look out for number 1 (me, of course). But no, there’s not such a list? You mean, I can NEVER say I’ve exhausted what’s expected of me?

    No wonder He tells us that transformation is needed. Thanks be to God that He who orders the change provides power to make the change!

    Reply
    1. jwfisch

      Yes. Thank you. That was the one thing I failed to mention! Small detail!

      Reply
    2. Sandie

      Andrew, I think sometimes (most times) we expect more from ourselves than He does. He makes provision for our human frailty, and even understands and feels what we feel, totally. Scripture says Jesus became like us in all ways so he could truly identify with that frailty. He understands that we constantly battle with the old sin nature within us (Paul speaks of his personal battle in Romans). Asking Jesus to be my Savior is a one-time occurrence…asking Him to be Lord of my life is an ongoing process, only complete when I see Him face-to-face. 1 John 1:9 is the provision God affords us so that we can always press our spiritual ‘re-set’ button. Phillipians 1:6 is the promise that He will perfect us and finish the work He began in us. For me, the “detail commands” embody the concept of kindness and respect; the same things I want extended to me. I need to cut everyone the same break God extended to me. As you said, thank God for His grace and His Spirit!
      Sometimes, we DO need to put ourselves first. We are only human and we get tired, physically, emotionally, spiritually; God doesn’t fault us for that. He gave us common sense to recognize when we need a break and take it. We need those respites so we can be refreshed and encouraged to “get back into the game” so to speak. Blessings to you!

      Reply

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