Simply… Come, Follow the Lord
Oh the shame of it! I foresee the day when nations that have been under spiritual darkness and have undergone great suffering from evil for the name of Christ such as Korea, China, India will send missionaries to the United States to ask how it is that this nation that has so many church spires in every city has forgotten the Christ they were built to direct mankind toward the One Way to the One True God?
The most frustrating aspect of being a Christian is observing the inane and insane machinations those that call themselves Christians perpetrate to replace the faith “once delivered unto the saints” when they decide to follow their Lord. He said, “come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden.” Why don’t they simply “come” and allow His Spirit “to teach” and “bring those things to memory that he has taught.”
Jesus was asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matthew 22:36) Jesus replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22: 37- 40; emphasis mine)
These two contain everything that is detailed in the Ten Commandments!
- You shall have no other God before me.
- Do not make any graven image and worship it.
- Do not take the name of God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy (sanctified, set apart).
- Honor thy father and mother. (The first commandment with promise)
- Do not kill (murder).
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not steal.
- Do not lie.
- Do not covet (have an inordinate desire for what belongs to your neighbor).
Verse 37 above covers the first four of the Ten Commandments and are our obligation to the God; verses 38-40 are a person’s obligation to his fellow man.
Putting that in the most common terms possible those are all our obligations to both the Creator and fellow creatures. They are very simple; however, the devil is in the details as some are want to say.
The reason for that being a true statement is very simple. Creatures are flesh and blood and there is a strong desire to survive. That means we must protect self because most people do not want to die. Dying takes thought and determination; the uncertainty of what or if there is anything beyond this life and will it be desired are thoughts that require deep reasoning. The only way out of this present life is death. Everyone is born into it and everyone dies to get out of it.
To survive there are requirements to maintain health and well being mainly food, clothing, shelter and the means or substance to acquire them. If a person loses or is unable to obtain those necessities ultimately he perishes. When those items are given away will it be possible to replace them? Under normal circumstances those are not a great worry. Get a job, borrow the means to obtain them or be a member of a group who will help in the event they are lost for a time.
The underlying dilemma is a question, how much is enough? There are several more questions that arise; If it is lost or given away can it be replaced? It might be needed and until there is a certainty it can be replaced should one take a chance? “Possession is nine points of the law” it would be best to keep it and make certain first.
Herein is one of the seven deadly sins, hoarding or selfishness! When one has that which will keep another from starving, exposure or thirst and withholds it from him in this frame of mind his love of self overpowers his love for his neighbor. Since he freely received it from God and withholds it from another creature as himself he disobeys both of the two “great” commandments. He that transgress one point of the law is guilty of all of it. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10) “Freely you have received, freely give, says the Lord.” (Matthew 10: 8) “For we walk by faith, not by sight…” (II Corinthians 5:7)
It is easily in the realm of human possibilities for every one to keep these laws and live in harmony with one another. In the Western civilized world all the laws, (they are very great in numbers of volumes), give detailed applications of these “Ten Commandments.” It is amazing how many who call them disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ confuse, misuse and/or abuse the name by which they are called. It is as if many of them work harder at trying to make the Christian life difficult when the underlying foundation is so simple. Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17) The law of Moses has not been repealed, abridged or made null and void; It is fulfilled! It was given as grace form a God who is LOVE! Love is the fulfillment of all the law!
The law of God is so very simple ; LOVE God first and foremost and everyone else second but one’s self and love self third. It is human nature to reverse those; it takes work and striving to put them in the proper order God ordained. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)…and ”The devil is in the details.”
Is this true? Has the proof from the Word of God not shown it to be so? “Hath God said?” These are the words Satan, the adversary of man, spoke to the first couple in the Garden Paradise called Eden!
It is the first question that pops into the mind when someone wants something that belongs to someone else and he desires or lusts to have it. Has God said, do not covet? Does anyone really have to ask? Is it a good thing for people not to cover? Does anyone really need to ask? Why do so many do it? Does anyone really need to ask?
No one really does those things, right? A Christian does!
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