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No Half Measures


          We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:  Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. (I John 2:3-6)         
           “If you love me, keep my commands." (John 14:15)
 
              “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
                Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:36-39)


         Here’s a radical notion: love is not about enjoying someone’s company. It’s not about feeling good. It’s about submission. It’s about self-sacrifice. It’s about seeking what is best for the loved one, not pleasing ourselves. John tells us in the Gospel of John, that Jesus said that keeping His commandments is a requirement and proof of our love for Him. In the Gospel of Matthew, we’re told that the greatest commandment is not just to love God, but to love Him with all, all of our heart, soul, and mind, and within that love, to love others in a lesser degree – as we love ourselves. 
         In today’s main passage, we’re informed that we can’t even claim to know Him if we don’t keep His commands, obey His Word, and live as He lived. No one does this perfectly, of course. I fail in ways that others do not. Others fail in ways that I do not. Only Jesus ever did it right. But that is not an excuse for the rest of us. 
         There is an old story about a town that took the challenge of asking “What would Jesus do?” before making any decision or taking any action. It’s a good question to ask, but the answer is simple. Jesus would obey God. If God’s word said that something was wrong, Jesus wouldn’t do that thing. If Jesus saw God doing something, He did the same thing. Never did He do something that God said was wrong because the society in which He lived no longer believed that way. Never did He approve something that God said was wrong because society approved of it. This is why we must study His Word, to learn what He approve. Half-measures don’t count.

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