According to the the Talmud there are 613 commandments in the Torah. Some researchers have said that there are 248 positive commands (the do's) and 365 negative commands (the do not's). This is the culture that was present during the birth of the Church. There was strict adherence to the Mosaic Law and the Torah. Your relationship with God was centered around your ability to keep the Law. And I think what happened, what seemed to be present in Jesus' day, was that this need to fulfill the Law left little room for how we interacted with one another. Jesus spoke of the burdens that the religious leaders placed upon the people and how they were unwilling to lift a finger to help.
Honor to everyone and Love for the brotherhood emphasizes the spiritual nature of relationships. One another is no longer seen as something that is less than our relationship with the Father. In fact, love for one another is sourced in our love for Him. It flows from the same fountain. The shared life of the church reminds us of this necessity. How can we, according to John, love God whom we have not seen and curse those made in His image? It's impossible. If we cannot honor His image and likeness in the Earth then how could we possibly honor the Creator? It is not legal to separate the Divine Image from the Divine. If the entire law can be fulfilled through loving our neighbor as ourselves, it seems to me that we can no longer evaluate our faithfulness to the Lord simply through our performance toward Him.
This is where you should take some time to read through the "One Another's" of Scripture.
Love...
Honor...
Build Up...
Comfort...
Forgive...
Bear...Burdens
Encourage...
And the list goes on and on.
However, make sure you understand the "WHY?" of this approach to life. It isn't about fulfilling a Law. It is about embracing the culture of the Kingdom. It is the heart of the Father. For me to go deeper in Him does not mean that I neglect those around me. For me to enter into a higher sense of spirituality does not mean that I step on others. We need one another. Whatever experience I have in the Lord personally, I get to share corporately. It's a way of life that values others, esteems them better than myself, and honors who the Lord is in/through them. It's quite beautiful.
I'm sure much of this will sound ludicrous in a culture where right believing seems to trump right being. Much of Evangelical Christianity has been caught up in the Apologetics of the Faith rather than the simple Application of the Faith. So much times is wasted on those WITHIN the Body of Christ arguing, disagreeing, and splitting over theological matters. In the words of Jesus, I believe we have neglected the weightier matters. So what if I have a brother who views spiritual gifts differently than I do? What does it matter if our eschatology doesn't line up with one another? Who cares what they practice as it relates to food and drink? Why do we get so caught up in what version of the Bible they use, the style of worship they practice, or what denominational label they function under? How long will we continue to be so blind to our own version of truth?
The church was designed by the Father to be the visual representation of Christ on the Earth. WE. ARE. HIS. BODY. What the world sees in US is applied to HIM. What are they experiencing right now? How are they understanding the nature of God at this very moment? I guess it all depends on where they are getting their definition. Does that thought make anyone else uncomfortable? Does it bother you that people may be getting their definition of God from the Westboro crowd? What do you think are the effects upon people's thinking if they only hear from the Zionism groups? Some people may be hearing about a God who cannot wait to pour out His wrath and a Jesus who will personally slay millions of people. How does this shape their view? What if...? What if they encountered a Body of believers who HONORED EVERYONE, LOVED THE BROTHERHOOD, REVERED GOD, and HONORED THOSE IN AUTHORITY? What if they experienced IN US the very life of Christ?
Are you starting to understand why this matters? Are you beginning to see the significance of one another? Christianity was never about a list of do's and don'ts, nor was the Bible meant to be seen as a rule book. WHO we are, and WHO we are to one another matters. How we relate to one another needs to be important. The honor we bestow, the love that we share, and the affection we carry is vitally important. This is the life of Jesus on full display in us and through us.
What if we stopped measuring our spirituality by the hours we prayed and began to see it through the lens of how much we loved?
What if we stopped counting how many times we read through the Bible and began to consider how much honor we gave?
What if we stopped keeping a record of how many people we evangelized and began to recognize how much mercy we extended?
I'm not trading in one spiritual log for another, I'm simply asking that we change our approach. Our spiritual lives can no longer be evaluated by the record of my doing but by the quality of my BEING. If I say that I love God then I will love you. I will forgive you. I will give grace to you. I will extend mercy to you. I will do all of those things because of who I am in Him. This is His life being lived out in me.
It's a game changer. It will take time to develop. That is true for each of us. But I want you to imagine a life where other-centered love is at the core of our being. A life where fear no longer has a place among us. Where shame and condemnation are never used. There is GRACE for this type of life. Are you ready?
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