“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.”
John 15:12 CSB
Most people have heard of the Ten Commandments. These were the laws given to the Israelites after God rescued them from slavery. It was part of the contract God made with the Israelites for them to be His chosen people, blessed by Him. Eventually, the Law was expanded and clarified and detailed so that it contained over 600 commands. Many of them are not very relevant to society today, like Exodus 21:28–32 that talks about what I should do if my bull gores someone. Others just aren’t feasible in modern society, requiring animal sacrifices in very specific ways and cleaning things “outside the camp”, etc. The laws are complicated and hard to interpret for today, and some are just downright impossible to obey without going to jail. When Moses wrote them, they made more sense, but even the Israelites were unable to obey them all. The Old Testament is filled with examples of their failure to keep their end of the contract with God. Over and over and over again, God’s people fail.
This was actually the purpose of the law, in part. God’s children need to see how high His standard is and recognize how terrible we are at meeting that standard. We simply can’t. This was as true then as it is today. There is not a single person alive, and never has been, who can meet God’s standard of perfection.
Except Jesus. He came to earth and was perfectly sinless. Then He gathered up all our sins (yours, mine, everyone’s!) and took them with Him to death. And He made a new contract with His followers, God’s people. Today’s verse is my side of the bargain. For me to hold up my end of the contract I don’t need to sacrifice any sheep or cover my head or have a priest certify that my house is mildew-free. All I need to do is love. That’s it! There’s nothing to memorize. Nothing to study and interpret. No special dates. No animals are involved. Jesus said if I love Him, His one command to me is to love others. I think maybe I can remember that.
Dear God,
Thank you so much for simplifying your law for me! I’m so sorry that I fail so often at pleasing you. Thank you for your forgiveness over and over again. Every morning, remind me of this verse and the one thing you ask me to do as your child. Teach me how to love. Fill me with your perfect, beautiful love so that it flows out of me to others.
Originally published at http://camdevo.wordpress.com on August 30, 2023.
