Love and commandment

Spiritual Experience / by jwattles

Why did Jesus teach love as a commandment? Because to focus just on loving God and the neighbor was so liberating for the Jews who at that time were up to their necks in commandments.

Secondly, Jesus was not an autobiographical preacher. You have to read between the lines for clues to his personal life. He taught the command to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength was the greatest commandment because he lived that quality of love, knew how totally awesome is was to have that kind of relationship with the Father, and wanted us to share it.

Third, a divine commandment expresses faith in what we can do and be, orients our life, alerts us to the fact that the rewards of following are better than the consequences of rejecting, and promises support every step of the way.

You can see it in the image above. The giving of divine commandments is an act of love and Fatherly kindness, received in utmost worshipful gratitude and respect. Woodcut of Sebald Beham of Moses receiving the ten commandments, from the prayer book of Martin Luther, 1527. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Ten-Commandments-Luther-Beham-1527.jpg/128px-Ten-Commandments-Luther-Beham-1527.jpg

Watch the 11:22 video or listen to the podcast episode.

With all our strength
I’ve been on a quest to live–and write about–loving God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Yesterday I sent to my editor friend a revised section on strength. She discovered weaknesses in it. It didn’t take long for me to realize (this is a pattern) that she had uncovered a fresh, hungry need […]
Faith child
The faith of a little child not only enables us to join the kingdom family of God, it also continues to guide us as we progress. Jesus’s teachings and interactions on this theme are marked by a wonderful simplicity. And the variety of these teachings touches on several concepts that are part of the whole […]
Sean finds God
A 21-year-old computer whiz embraced the concept of the wonderfulness within, but rejected the idea of the spirit of God within–until two weeks ago. How did philosophy help? Watch the 9-minute video or listen to the podcast episode. For the video, I simplified the philosophy so much it’s hardly recognizable. I have organized some ideas […]
Falling across the Pentecost finish line
After acknowledging the failure of an experiment in the last class meeting (falling across the finish line), I summarize a five-week class, "The Journey from Easter to Pentecost." Then I distinguish garden-variety spiritual experience from the taste-and-see variety.
The Journey from Easter to Pentecost
"Lazarus, come forth!" Imagine Jesus saying this to you, and you saying this to others. Here's class that has embarked on that venture.
Composting the ugly
Composting, a process of transformation, a metaphor of a seven-step process of growth.
Happy Mourning
“Happy mourning” sounds like a paradox. Let's probe Jesus’ beatitude: mourning for past, present, future, for self and others, extreme affliction and daily sensitivity and responsiveness to human need.
A leader’s legacy
Jesus was the model for leaders who know they are not going to stay on the planet forever. Jesus made provision for continuing what he had begun. His legacy would sustain the inspiration, make it possible for people to stay true to the mission, and provide for further growth and new developments to come.
Militant action, mission of peace
Coming into Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus communicated a mission of peace and also acted militantly on some occasions. How can we understand this combination?
Jesus tried
When Peter said to Jesus, "You are the Messiah, the Son of God," Jesus affirmed his insight--and then commanded the apostles not to tell this to anyone. Why not?