Just One Thing

Jesus replied: "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. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."     (Matthew 22:37-39)

 

I was recently listening to a presentation on 'how to create a presentation'. The speaker emphasized that you can only expect your audience to actually remember "one thing," which makes perfect sense. We have all sat through long, circuitous talks that no doubt made many valid points, but our minds can't retain all that, so maybe we remember one thing -- probably the last thing he or she talked about, which is rarely the most important thing.

The Christian message is full, and rich, and layered with many truths -- all wonderful and important.  But when Jesus was cornered by the religious leaders of the day and pressured to come up with the "greatest commandment," His one thing was "love God and love each other".

If that was His one thing, then it should probably be our one thing, too. Everything else flows out of that.

There is a great deal written in the New Testament about obedience and sin -- along with lots of instructions about good behavior. But it is all just commentary on the one thing -- loving God passionately and completely.

We can only love Him like this if we are certain that we are safe in His love and that we can trust His work in our lives -- no matter what happens. 

Chances are, if you can't really trust Him like that, it's because you don't really love Him like that. Maybe you're just grateful, or inspired by the teachings of Jesus -- but that is not the same as loving Him personally. To love Him personally, you must be absolutely convinced that He loves you personally.

You know you love someone, when your duty becomes your choice.

 

Obedience and duty, when fueled by will-power alone, will always eventually fail, often with an unpleasant dose of resentment thrown in. It never works and it was never God's intention. He didn't die for you just to get you to behave yourself. He took the punishment for your sin because He loved you (and me) that much.

He is your One Thing, whether you know it or not.

I encourage you to get to know the God who loves you like no one else ever could, or ever would. And then spend some time getting to know who you are in Christ -- because only in Him will you find your identity, your safety, your freedom, and your very source for life lived to its fullest.

I have a song for everything.

One Thing, by Hillsong Worship