Hanging the Commandments

Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Like a hook anchored to the wall which holds all the books of the law this command often goes without much notice.  The hook is not pondered or given much thought it just does its job and remains firmly entrenched, never moving, always in place.  The men who came to Jesus had become obsessed with the Decalogue.  They studied them, meditated on them, created traditions and laws around them without ever paying attention to what held them in place.  We are often guilty of this type of thinking. 

Today is my Mother’s birthday.  Her care for me has always been sacrificial.  I didn’t always know it or pay much attention to the time she invested in my life.  Children seem to take their parents for granted.  Mom’s are suppose to cook, clean, wake you up, buy your clothes, help with your homework, teach you how to dress, comb your hair, drive you where you want to go, give you money, and always be there to talk to.  But why?  Why do they take such care?  Why does a young woman allow her body to go through such changes and pain to bring a child into the world?  Why does she lay down her life so that child can learn how to survive and thrive?  I know that everything my Mother did for her children flowed from her heart.  With all of her heart, soul and mind Mom cared for all seven of her children.  I don’t think she considered it a sacrifice.  She never had to “work up” the love that she showed to us.  She never had to be convinced that it was worth it.  She didn’t go to seminars on how to be a better mom or how to lay down her life for her family.  She just did it because she loved us. 

Living for God is like that.  Someone is not going to teach you how to keep the commandments.  They are not going to give you a twelve step guide to being a successful Christian.  True obedience must flow from the heart.  When we love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind we will simply follow Him.  Our obedience will come natural and our praise will flow from our innermost being.  With a heart of compassion we will seek God and desire to know Him.  Sacrifices will become joys and labor will become pleasure.  Every trial will serve to bring us closer to Jesus and every temptation will only remind us of how much we love Him. 

Jesus reminds us in this passage to lift our eyes from what hangs from the hook and make sure that the hook is firmly in place.  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”