Stephen
Terry, Director
To Love the Lord Your God
Commentary
for the October 23, 2021, Sabbath School Lesson
"So then, the law is holy, and the
commandment is holy, righteous and good." Romans 7:12, NIV
Many are familiar with Francis
of Assisi, a mendicant friar of the early 13th century. Beatified by
the Catholic Church, his feast day is in October. He was noted for his love of
God's Creation and was especially caring toward animals. For the former he was made the patron saint of ecology in the 1970s, and for
the latter, many Catholics bring their pets and other animals to their priest
in October for a special blessing associated with his feast day. Many of his
legendary encounters with animals are recorded in the apocryphal testament "Little
Flowers."[i]
He was a peaceful man, who
humbly sought to work within the church to promote a message of Christ-like
living. He was ordained a Deacon but never achieved priesthood. Nonetheless, he
carried the gospel everywhere both through his preaching and the example of his
lifestyle. He even tried to bring about reconciliation between a Muslim ruler
in Egypt and the Crusaders invading his country. These and many other accounts
of his life can be read about in his Wikipedia biography.[ii]
Francis' life showed a complete
commitment to the Law of God, not as Ten Commandments carved into stone tablets,
but as two living precepts carved into the human heart. He chose to love God
with all his heart, mind, and soul, and to love his neighbor as himself.
Succinctly, he simply chose to love. In a time when a corrupt church was amassing
wealth and power in Rome, instead of challenging the church for its faults, he
simply chose to model his own life after Christ's and to preach about the joy
of a relationship with Jesus. He found that not only people responded to the
love of God, but all of Creation seemed to respond to its influence. As a
result, he found it needful to preach to the animals and freely did so. Whether
they sensed that love or were simply curious, many accounts testify that the
animals trusted and were drawn to him.
At a time when most religions, including
Christianity, seem to be riven with internal political
battles and where many are more interested in railing upon one another than in
loving each other, the example of his life continues to speak to the modern
world, just like the Savior he served. We live in a society that has gone so far
that some justify evil, disrespect, and even violence by claiming that they are
"lovingly" straightening the other person out. The "Cry-aloud-and-spare-not"
crowd do not appear to believe in the persuasive power of love alone. If love does
not persuade, they feel justified in resorting to ever stronger means of
persuasion. This is the spirit that in the past gave us the Christian Crusades
and the Muslim Jihads. If, as we hear so often, God is love, then surely this
blackens his character to have his followers resorting to such activities.
Sadly, it is possible to keep
all the Ten Commandments without a single drop of love in one's heart. But it
is impossible to keep God's two commandments and not fulfill every requirement
of the Law. We can fall into the error of a legalism that believes that keeping
the Decalogue is the key to salvation. But that can be a slippery slope to legalistic
obedience if one is not careful. They can convict us of sinful acts, but they
do not instill in us a loving heart. Instead, they can drive us to the One who
can give us new hearts.[iii] This
can only happen if we flee Sinai and run to Christ. Sinai could not free Israel,
and they wandered 40 years in the wilderness in a macabre march of death until
an entire generation was gone. With their passing rose the hope that a new
generation could wish to emulate the character of God. Instead, they continued
the ways of their forebears. When faced with a smaller foe at Ai, they resorted
to their own strength just as their fathers did in going up to Canaan in the previous generation and met with the same result as their fathers. Defeated in battle, they lamented their lot.
An Israelite, Achan, had chosen
to fill his heart with a lust for wealth instead of love for God and his fellow
Israelite. In stealing a wedge of gold and some costly garments, he betrayed
his people without regard to evil consequences. In the end he gave up both
wealth and his life. This parallels the rich, young ruler who came to Jesus,
claiming to be keeping the Ten Commandments. But in the end Jesus revealed his heart
lusted for wealth, not a love for God or his neighbor.[iv]
Given the hold that a desire to be wealthy can have on a person's heart, the
disciples questioned whether anyone who has chosen wealth could be saved from
that lust. But Jesus assured them that God specializes in impossibilities. If
God can replace a heart of stone with one of flesh, he can recreate a greedy,
self-centered narcissist into a humble saint like Francis. His Holy Spirit,
able to be present everywhere, is engaged in doing exactly that for many. He draws them to give their lives to Christ, to begin walking
in a new direction. With every step, some of the old stoniness falls away to be
replaced with the lovely luster of the character of God. God knows that beneath
the stony surface in each heart, precious gems are waiting to be discovered and
restored. He knows exactly what chiseling and burnishing will bring forth the
luster of a heavenly character. The process may at times seem painful, but for
those who persist, the end is glorious.
It is said
that couples who have long been married, over time, grow to resemble one
another in character. The same is true in our walk with God. As we draw closer
to him, we feel he is doing the same until we realize he has been close all
along. We were the ones who wandered. Like a child with their family at the
seashore, we have been distracted chasing a colorful beach ball. Eventually,
our tummy tells us it is lunchtime, so we forget the ball and look around. But
we do not see our parents, nor does the beach look familiar where we are. We
wander about and only get more confused. Unable to find our way back, we start
to cry. Someone hears that fearful cry and has been looking for us. Soon there
is a familiar hand to lead us back to where we belong. Even our growling
stomach rejoices.
There is something that draws a
child home to family. There is a feeling of love and safety there. It is the
same with God. The Bible tells us that we were created in his image, both male
and female. This means we were created to both give and receive love. Part of
that gift is a feedback loop. While we love God supremely, his love also flows
back to us. As that loop repeats, it grows in intensity. The same can happen
with our love for others. Creation teaches us that what we give returns to us
manyfold. When one plants a single, withered kernel of corn in the ground, it
returns more plump kernels of corn than can be held in both hands.
According to Genesis, when God
created the Earth, he provided four rivers for water that flowed from Eden.
When he created man, his intent was to create through humanity fountains of
love as well to bless the world. We have wandered so far from that intent. We
are invited to return to loving our creator that we might love our neighbor,
too. Love for our neighbor is evidence of our love for God, while hatred or
even indifference toward our neighbor is evidence that love for God is lacking
as well.[v] When
there is anyone we do not love, we stumble in our relationship with God. When
we live in fear of others and what they might do, we also testify that we do
not love God for love drives out fear.[vi]
Evil looks to control through fear, but love, from a source deeper than the
source of evil, is not overcome by evil. Though the body be destroyed, love
endures. It transcended death at the cross and laid bare the stark contrast between
hatred and love. Hatred is chaos and dissonance. Love is harmony and service.
Those familiar with music know
that harmony does not mean uniformity. Only out of diversity can the symphony
of the universe be heard as each note, each created being, compliments the
others in glorious praise and love for God. Dissonance brings the clash of
conflict and the overpowering of the weak in subservience to the strong. It is
the antithesis to love of God and humanity. Both are playing to our audience. Will
we walk toward God or away? Will we sing his song, the song of Creation, or
that of another? Will our heart soften or grow ever harder? Can you hear his
song calling you? Will you give your heart to dance with God?