Thursday, November 11, 2010

Simple Instructions

I think the most complex set of instructions I've ever had to struggle with were for my patio barbeque.  And it didn't help matters that the English was probably translated by a non-native speaker at a factory somewhere in Asia.

It made me think, "What are the simplest instructions in my house?"  The truth is, I deal with them every day.  They are on my shampoo bottle:
1.  Lather
2.  Rinse
3.  Repeat

In Matthew 22, a teacher of the law asked Jesus what the greatest single law from the Torah was.  Jesus answered, "Love God."  And secondarily, "Love your neighbor."  Jesus wraps up his discussion by saying, "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matt. 22: 40).  Or to paraphrase it, "This sums up the Torah."

So, you could say that the entire ethical imperative of Torah may be as simple as that bottle of shampoo.
1.  Love God
2.  Love People
3.  Repeat

What would our world look like if the Church were involved in fulfilling those two simple commands, and then kept doing it over and over again?

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