Reflection:
‘The law of the Lord’ is a collection of 613 rules which are listed in the book of Deuteronomy. These laws are divinely decreed and considered to be ‘perfect’. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers, ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.’ (Matthew 5:17). With such a vast assembly of rules how was he possibly going to do that?
Later in the sermon Jesus states, ‘So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.’ (Matthew 7:12).
As Christians, we are given the greatest and first commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. But close behind that is the second: to love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27). This is what ‘refreshes the soul’. This is what ‘makes wise the simple’ and this is what enables community, charity, hospitality, unity — and in my case 35 years of marriage! — doing for others as you would have them do for you, and loving others as yourself.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, please show me how I can love others like Jesus loves me. Open opportunities for me to connect with my neighbours, and bring people across my path that I can bless. Thank you for blessing me with the resources to bless others.