Good morning,
Recently, we looked at Exodus 20:3 which stated "you shall have no other
gods before me". The biggest thing that we tend to put before God is
ourselves. This is rooted in and is evidenced in our pride.
John Piper writes, "The root of our sinfulness is the desire for our own
happiness apart from God and apart from the happiness of others in God. Let
me say it again: the root of our sinfulness is the desire to be happy apart
from God and apart from the happiness of others in God. All sin comes from a
desire to be happy cut off from glory of God and cut off from the good of
others. The command of Jesus cuts to this root, exposes it, and severs it.
Pride is the presumption that we can be happy without depending on God as
the source of our happiness and without caring if others find their
happiness in God........Pride is the pursuit of happiness anywhere but in
the glory of God and the good of other people."
Sometimes we can become too "familiar" with verses and portions of God's
Word to the point where we think, "yeah, I know that", and move on. Today's
verses should be familiar to us, too familiar. But think of it "in light
of" what we just read above.
Matt 22:37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the
first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.' NKJV
It is especially easy to overlook "little" words like "as", but they are
important. It is placed here for us to make a comparison. It is actually a
very big word. Consider this from a sermon from John Piper on this
passage::
"As you long for food when you are hungry, so long to feed your neighbor
when he is hungry. As you long for nice clothes for yourself, so long for
nice clothes for your neighbor. As you work for a comfortable place to live,
so desire a comfortable place to live for your neighbor. As you seek to be
safe and secure from calamity and violence, so seek comfort and security for
your neighbor. As you seek friends for yourself, so be a friend to your
neighbor. As you want your life to count and be significant, so desire that
same significance for your neighbor. As you work to make good grades
yourself, so work to help your neighbor make good grades. As you like to be
welcomed into strange company, so welcome your neighbor into strange
company. As you would that men would do to you, do so to them. "
This word as, Piper says," It means: If you are energetic in pursing your
own happiness, be energetic in pursuing the happiness of your neighbor. If
you are creative in pursuing your own happiness, be creative in pursuing the
happiness of your neighbor. If you are persevering in pursuing your own
happiness, be persevering in pursuing the happiness of your neighbor. In
other words, Jesus is not just saying: seek for your neighbor the same
things you seek for yourself, but also seek them in the same way-the same
zeal and energy and creativity and perseverance."
Read the verses again and the passage below. How "familiar" is it to you
now? We didn't even consider "who is my neighbor".
What brings you happiness?
In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
more information at MikesVOTD.blogspot.com
Matt 22:34-41
The Most Important Commandment
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his
reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in
religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 "Teacher, which is
the most important commandment in the law of Moses?"
37 Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all
your soul, and all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest
commandment. 39 A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as
yourself.' 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based
on these two commandments." NLT
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