Deuteronomy 21-25: Without Loving God

How cold the Israelites keep track of all the laws given them.  There were rules for everything from what to do with an unsolved murder to what you could eat if you walked through your neighbor's field;  all the major and minor infractions were covered.  They had to be a holy, undefiled people because God was holy.  As the years went by, the laws in Deuteronomy became even more complicated.  Then Jesus came along.

It's really very simple, he told his disciples.  You must love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.  You don't need a guidebook for that.  You just need love, or as the apostle Paul put it.
The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  - Romans 13:9 NIV

This should be so easy, but in this present society, it seems to be the hardest thing to do.  We are constantly bombarded with the message that we are at the center; for each of us, our own well being is of utmost importance.  Look around and it's not hard to see the results of being so self-centered.  We climb over anyone in our way while at the same time we profess to be doing something good for society. The humanist would tell you that if you take God out of the equation it is easy to live an ethical life of personal fulfillment that aspires to the greater good of humanity.  But this has not been the case.  Our quest for personal fulfilment always comes at the expense of others.  We cannot love others as our self without loving God.

2010 Post - Deuteronomy 21-25:  A Matter of the Heart