1 John: For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,
Originally, I thought of just looking at Jesus' answer to the question of what commandment is the greatest. Then I thought, when was the last time we considered the Ten Commandments? Can we name all of them?
If we recall, the Ten Commandments came into play because God had delivered the Jews from slavery in Egypt, where they had no sense of right and wrong, worshipped idols, and lost touch with God. God performed miracle after miracle, the plagues, Passover, parting the Red Sea, and manna from the sky, all so the Jews would trust Him. What happened? Those "stiff-necked" people started worshipping idols again. God had to teach the people EVERYTHING.
Moses went up to Mount Sinai, where God gave him the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets. The Commandments were meant to teach the people the difference between right and wrong because they had no sense at all.
The Ten Commandments:
I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
Reading through them, I decided to look to Jesus' answer to the greatest commandment question and His answer from Matthew (22:37-39), "...'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
John tells us that God's commandments are not burdensome. All we have to do is abide by those two simple commandments, and everything falls into place, right? And yet...we all slip. Thank God for His divine, infinite, and unconditional mercy.
Today, may we love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and if we slip, large or small, may we ask for mercy from God and our neighbor.