First Love

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Matt 22:34-40 (NKJV)

Any lawyer worth his salt is going to pose questions that cut to the heart of a matter. Answering a sharp lawyer can be a very tricky proposition--especially, if a person has something to hide. Such a man posed a question to Jesus--and, "Yes," he was trying to trap Jesus. The lawyer asked Jesus a very difficult question: "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" I can see the Pharisses in the background smirking and giving the knowing nod to their colleague.

What the lawyer did not realize is that he was going up against God in the flesh--the author of the law. It would be like one of us going back in time and trying to argue the Theory of Relativity with Albert Eisenstein. So, Jesus answered the lawyer without missing a beat. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your heart...and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." The lawyer did not have much of a comeback after Jesus' answer. The Gospel of Luke has his follow-up question on the record: "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus then launched into the story of the Good Samaritan. For the lawyer this was like shooting an air-ball, getting the rebound only to have your next shot blocked.

We need to take Jesus' answer to heart--realizing that all the Law and the Prophets find their completion in these two commandments. It is possible to be very religious and not keep the greatest of the commandments. In writing to the Church of Ephesus, Jesus commended them for their perseverance, hard work and doctrinal stability...however, they failed on a grand scale, because they had wandered away from their first love. Let us keep our priorities straight and make Jesus our first love.

Prayer: "Dear heavenly Father, I know that as a child my heart belonged to You. As I have grown older, my life has been invaded by other concerns, both good and bad; however, at times I know that my communion with You is not what it used to be. With Your help, I am going to strive to go back to the time when You were my first love and the great passion of my life. Please forgive me for my duplicitous heart and wandering ways. I love You Lord! Amen"