“Loving obedience to Christ’s commands flows out of first obeying the Greatest Command.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – May 27, 2024
[Jesus said], “You know the commands”… And he [the rich young ruler] said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth”…Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack.” Mark 10:17-27, NASB
As a young believer, I experienced a lot of stopping and starting. I stopped cursing God, and I started praising God. I stopped drinking alcohol, and I started drinking in Jesus the living water. I stopped chasing after girls, and I started passionately pursuing Christ. My behaviors changed, and being a naturally disciplined person, I was determined to be a good Christian. Yet, there was a judgmental spirit that lurked in my heart that kept me from fully loving God and people. I became proud of my moral improvements to the degree of looking down on others who didn’t embrace my rules of how to behave. I had managed to somewhat consistently keep the Ten Commandments but, in the process, had broken the Greatest Commandment. Like the rich young ruler, Jesus was calling me to Himself, beyond my being moral to my being loved by Him.
Profoundly, looking at him, Jesus showed love to him…Jesus looked at the young man’s moral advancements and, in essence, said there is more for you to be in an intimate relationship with me. You need to rid yourself of anything or anyone who is keeping you from me and then follow me. Notice what Jesus didn’t say: Keep working hard for me in your moral disciplines, and one day you will achieve moral superiority and be accepted by God and His people. In fact, pride in our morality is a barrier to us becoming more like Jesus in humility and love. Of course, living a holy life is essential to the Lord; be holy as I am holy. But it is a holiness that flows out of a holy encounter with pure Love, and like Moses at the burning bush, we surrender in humility. And out of our surrender, the Holy Spirit fills us to bear the fruit of love, patience, kindness, etc., in our love and service to others. Holiness is the Spirit’s fruit that flows out of a holy love encounter!
C.S. Lewis challenges our thinking on the topic of Christian morality, “I think all Christians would agree with me if I said that though Christianity seems at first to be all about morality, all about duties and rules and guilt and virtue, yet it leads you on, out of all that, into something beyond.” Indeed, something and someone beyond. Beyond being good to experiencing the goodness of God in the blooming of a brilliant sunflower or in the face of an innocent child. So, a heart is transformed by the love of God and is compelled to love and live empowered by God.
Be honest: Have you grown proud of your morality so much that you expect others to praise you for your goodness and quietly you feel for those who fail to meet your standards? If so, Jesus looks at you with eyes of love and says, “One thing you lack.” Start by confessing a judgmental spirit and trust the Lord to judge the consequences of another’s sin in His timing and in His way. Replace your proud judgment with humble compassion. Pray for another to be healed from the trauma of their emotional pain buried deep within their unconscious mind or for their total forgiveness so one can be set free from the hurt of rejection or the consequences of another’s sin.
Embrace the joy of knowing Jesus in an intimate encounter of love, way beyond just checking a list of your moral achievements. Follow the sequence of your obedience and holiness to the Ten Commandants to flow out of your love relationship with the Lord and people that originates in the Greatest Commandment. Feasting at the banquet table of being fully known and loved by the Father, Son, and Spirit is way beyond nibbling at the morsels of being good. Be holy…in love!
Prayer
Lord, may my life be a reflection of Your holiness, fueled by a love that knows no bounds. Guide me to walk in purity, integrity, and compassion, spreading Your love wherever I go. Let my every word and action honor You and draw others closer to Your heart. Amen.
Application
What attitude of yours may have become judgmental, and the Lord is convicting you to become more merciful?
Related Reading
Deuteronomy 10:12-13; 30:15-20; John 14:15-31; 1 John 5:1-5
Worship Resource
CeCe Winans: Holy Forever
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