Anchored: What Defines Us – Wholeness – Matt. 22:34-40
Michael Lieberknecht
Matthew 22:34-40 (ESV) – 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
If we desire to be shaped and grow as a community, long for our whole selves to be transformed by Jesus, we must be willing to acknowledge the beneath-the-surface parts of our lives.
In Matthew 22, Jesus is asked a very important question: What is the greatest commandment in the law?
Since the beginning when Israel became a nation, God’s desire has always been that they would honor God as their creator, deliverer and Lord. (Read the Shema prayer in Deuteronomy 6) His heart has always been that they would be moved by his love for them. All the laws that Israel had to follow were always intended to bring about a deep, covenant relationship with him. Since the beginning of time, God’s design for creating all that was and is, was out of his great love for that creation.
Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all soul and with all your mind” (Mark adds strengths). And love your neighbor as yourself. Following Jesus means engaging our whole selves in this pursuit. We cannot love our neighbors like ourselves if we aren’t forming and caring for our whole selves.
Whether we realize it or not, we are always being formed (or deformed). If we come to a place where we submit our whole beings to God, we are being formed… And God is not content to leave us where we are at, even though he meets us there with arms wide open. But we can also be deformed as well. Are you being formed or deformed?
1) We must engage and care for the mind, body and spirit–they all matter.
- 1 Cor. 6:19-20 (NIV) – 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
- 1 Thess. 5:23-24 (NIV) – 23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
2) Safe environments for honesty and vulnerability are essential.
- Galatians 6:1-2 (NIV) – 1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
3) Learn to have healthy conflict.
“Spiritual formation occurs primarily in the context of community. Persons who remain connected with their brothers and sisters in the local church almost invariably grow in self-understanding. And they mature in their ability to relate in healthy ways to God and to fellow human beings. This is especially the case for those courageous Christians who stick it out through the messy process of interpersonal conflict. Long-term relationships are the crucible of genuine progress in the Christian life. People who stay grow. People who leave do not grow.” – Joseph Hellerman, Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Talbot School of Theology
4) Develop healthy rhythms: they are linked to spiritual maturity and growth. They are conduits to receive God’s love and be formed into the image of Christ – God cares as much, if not more, about the content of your character than the content of your contribution…
- Pete Scazzero says, “Deep communion with Jesus, a life of loving relationship, must be our ultimate aim. It is possible to do the work of God without actually being in communion with Him.”
5) We love people well through the giving of our attention and presence.
- Am I fully present to the people I am with? Or am I distracted? What you give your attention to is what you value most…
- Am I making a concerted effort to tangibly love people around me, even those who are hard to love?
To Jesus, the degree to which we love people is the degree to which we have intimacy and depth with God. It does take a work of the Holy Spirit, and it is in the spirit of freedom and gracious invitation from God; it also means we recognize that, sometimes, we need extra help to move through this process.
Jesus said in John 10:9-11 (ESV), “9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
God lovingly opens his arms to you and because Jesus gave everything for you, not only can you be reconciled to him, you can enter into a new way of life, his life… and that is the life that is truly life.