“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? 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. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).
Have you ever thought about how much easier your Christian walk might be without other people? I know what you are supposed to say here, and it sounds something like, “I just love serving others, especially in the church because there is just such a deep bond in the Lord.” Granted, that should be our attitude, just as this ought to be true of the church. Yet, you and I know that this is often not the case. It’s okay. I understand. You shouldn’t be afraid to admit it. It happens to everyone from time to time.
Truth be told, sometimes other Christians just drive us crazy, frustrate us and perhaps even cause a great deal of anxiety over things that more often than not just really don’t seem to matter too much in our mission and ministry. People can be inconsistent, prideful, lazy, overbearing or carry around a whole bunch of baggage that they seem intent on sharing with you at every turn or at least in those moments when it is least convenient for you.
Make no mistake about it. Christ dealt with this sort of thing often. I mean how many times did He teach something only to see people do the exact opposite? How many times did He perform some sign only to have His audience get so caught up in it that they couldn’t see the larger, spiritual picture? How many times did He encounter people that we would call “high maintenance” individuals, who had “a past” that was injected into their willingness or unwillingness to heed Him?
You may recall on one occasion, a religious leader came to Him and asked what the greatest command was. Christ answered the question, but then He also proceeded to answer one not asked, though vitally important. Remember, the first is to love God with all that you are and all that you have. He then reminded that we are to love our neighbors as well.
Again, truth be told, most Christians would have no issue with saying they “love God.” However, it is too easy to forget that a greater part of loving God is making sacrifices for our neighbors, or mankind, to put it simply. We have no problem worshipping and perhaps offering prayer or reading God’s Word. Yet, when it comes to working with others to plan and implement our Lord’s work, it gets a little stickier if we do not understand that love for God is inextricably tied to loving man. You cannot have one without the other.
Today, learn to show your love for Christ to all around you through humble service, even if that service is simply setting aside a judgmental attitude, getting over annoyances and opting to give the “benefit of the doubt” in all things. You may just be surprised how much more God will do through you when you release these things.
