The Easy Stuff

 Someone asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. You probably know the story. Depending on the gospel account, this was a legitimate question or an attempt to subject Jesus to shame. After all, how could he answer that without saying some other commandments weren't as important?

Jesus answered beautifully. The most important commandment is you shall love God with everything you have and are. But, he said, there is a second one that is like that one in importance. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus then said that on these two commandments hang all the law and all the prophetic writings.

Sometimes people seem to think that loving God and caring for one another is the easy stuff. It's like we have that part mastered already... or at least if not mastered, we understand it. Surely there must be something else in there that's really important. Surely there is something more that God asks of us.

I confess, I spend almost all of my time emphasizing those two commandments. I imagine at times I sound like a broken record. But the fact is, we don't really get it. 

You aren't loving someone while you stand idly by when they do not experience justice. You aren't loving someone when you choose who to care for based on their skin color. You aren't loving someone when you see them in pain and you do nothing or you pile on.

Loving God and loving others isn't the easy stuff. A rule about what you can or can't eat--that's easy. It's a yes or no situation. Seeing someone for who they are, loving them in spite of any differences, and in fact in spite of whether they love you--well, that is harder than anything else. That's why so much of the law and the prophets are about these things, and why Jesus still had to tell us and why we still need to be reminded.

Faithful following of Jesus isn't about getting something for yourself. It's not about what you get out of it. It's not about personal growth, although I expect that will happen. It is about overcoming our own self importance to rely on God and overcoming out own greed so we can truly love others. It is actually wanting for others the same things we want for ourselves.

I don't know about you, but I don't think that's the easy stuff.

At least, that's the view today.