To me, much of what concerns those who call themselves Christians today has little or nothing to do with Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Jesus never called for the killing of Doctors who perform abortions, or the rejection of people based on their color, religion, political affiliation, or gender identity.
Jesus didn’t care about free-market economics or whether or not the name of God was used in some vain pledge or speech. And why Christians concern themselves with such things is a quandary for me since it is so very easy to determine what Jesus Christ would be concerned with were he here today; he stated it so clearly when questioned:
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, 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 22:36-40 KJV
Here you have the sum total of Jesus Christ’s mission on earth; to get man to love God “with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and with all thy mind”, and to love each and every one of our neighbors as much as we love ourselves! So that there would be no equivocation, Jesus of Nazareth emphasized the fact that “all the law,”, which means ‘everything’ related to the practice of worship, was dependent upon these two things as their base!
Essentially everything related to the worship of God must be viewed through a prism of whether or not it reflects a true and complete love of God and a love of others, our “neighbors” that was as strong as we loved ourselves.
See? Simple, concise, and a very easy way to determine whether or not our actions and deeds truly are, well, ‘Christian.’ Do they demonstrate this love of which Jesus Christ spoke?
If not…
Where in those words of Jesus of Nazareth is the hatred or mistreatment of others because of their skin color? Or the harsh and hateful condemnation of our neighbors because of their nation of origin, their personal and private beliefs, or their gender identification and sexuality?
Where in those words of Jesus Christ are the many schisms and superlatives by which many so-called Christians parse and divide this world? Please, someone, tell me, where do I find all of this in the Bible? Because if someone doesn’t show me, I’ve truly missed it!
The simple words of Matthew 22:36-40 are enough for me, and John 8:31-32(which is a textbook ‘if-then statement’) lays out my path:
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:31-32 KJV
