Greatest Commandment ...

Wednesday, May 8, 2019. What should be the first thing to consider in my life? What is the first thing to care about? What is the first thing to do?

You might think the first thing should be to survive. We need air to breethe. We need to drink and to eat, clean water to survive the day, and food to survive the next day. To get all this, we need work. Also, humans need commmunity. We need others, just alone we cannot be, it drives us crazy.

It is interesting to see what Jesus says about the first things to consider. Let us have a look into this fascinating bible passage.

Love Relationships …

The first commandment is the basis of all commandments, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. When Jesus was asked what comes first, here is his answer:

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (2 Matthew 22)

Love is much more than just behaviour. Love points to our full attitude, our emotions, our decisions, our being. As humans, we have some sense of love. We know that it is more than pure sex. We know that it is about the other person, about acknowledgement, value, beauty. It is about how we are set towards the other person.

Set up our life …

Jesus tells us that we should set up our life starting with our relationship to God. And he describes this relationship in detail. It should be characterized by love. It shall be love itself! Love is what we should have and be in the first place, and not love to something, but love to God himself, the creator, the father, the first and the last.

This love should be love with all our heart, our soul and our mind. Jesus talks about all parts of human existence, about our decisions and will, about our emotions and layers of life. And our mind should be completely involved. Our reason is not separate from our faith!

Who are you? What would be your answer? You could answer that you are the one in love with God, in the first place. You are, and that comes with it, are also in love with mankind, with each and every part of it. That is the second part of this relationship. Who is fully in love with God cannot be a hater of humans - they are, after all, made in his image!

Jesus is even more precise. You do love. You love not just mankind in general. You do not love some humans. But you love those close to you, all those around you, your neighbor, as yourself. You love yourself as well! You should, since God loves you and you love God. There is a lot to discover here, worlds to explore and joy to experience … (Roland Potthast) ... further texts