Love God, Love Others

August 2005

Leaders expend much energy in ministry to others. The same energy is needed in order to develop our inner being. The way Jesus nurtures his inner life determines ours. We could do no better; we must do no less. My next articles will be about spiritual formation. I define spiritual formation as the activity of God in my life that enables me to imitate Jesus.

Jesus had one overarching confession that guided his life. In answering a seeker about what life is about, and how God forms the spirit, he said, “Listen people of God, love God with all you are and everyone else as yourself; this is the summary of all God’s revelation” (my paraphrase of Mark 12:28-34). This sound theology will not lead anyone astray. It is balanced and complete.

The people of Jesus’ day loved God by following the teachings of their religious leaders with emphasis on obeying the letter of the law. Jesus teaches a new way of loving God. He taught: “Follow me.” What he meant by that was to do life as a journey with him, to learn his teachings and to live as he did. The truth on which Jesus built his confession is this: God loves us.

Now Jesus nurtured this love of God in his life daily. His mother and earthly father taught him to recite the Shema.  Jesus was a creature of habit. He knew that certain practices, done in the right spirit, were symbols, signs and reminders of the presence of God. He adopted the practices of his people and on occasion added to them. Daily Jesus repeated this confession. It is the foundational confession of life: Love God, love others because God is love and loves you.

How do I absorb this truth and make it a daily experience in my life? How do I open my heart to its penetrating, life giving influence? I offer several suggestions.

      1. Creedalize. Baptists claim to be non-creedal people. By that, we mean that we do not accept any manufactured creeds as the final authority in our lives. This creed of Jesus is not fabricated, but God-revealed. This creed gives the vision of what life with God is all about.
      2. Imitate. Jesus repeated this creed daily. He probably repeated it more than once. Therefore, I have taken to the habit upon opening my eyes in the morning to repeat this creed: “Hear O my soul, the Lord my God is One. I will love the Lord my God with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. The second commandment is like the first: Love your neighbor as yourself. These are the summary of God’s revelation to me.” Is there any better assurance and feeling of contentment than knowing that you are repeating words Immanuel repeated every day of his life?
      3. Repeat until repetition allows moving beyond words. I ask God always to help me move from truth being just in my mind to truth becoming my very life. Those who do this are truly Walking with the Master.

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